The Sight
by JessicaRae24
Summary: Shawn's deception of being a psychic is about to get more complicated and he doesn't think he's going to be able to handle the repercussions. No slash.
1. Prologue

**The Sight**

**By: **JessicaRae

**Rating:** T

**Spoilers:** Brief mention of _Cloudy… Chance of Murder_ This takes place after that episode, also.

**Summary:** Shawn's deception of being a psychic is about to get more complicated and he doesn't think he's going to be able to handle the repercussions.

**Author's Notes:** This story came to me at 5am in the morning and seriously wouldn't let me sleep. I blame it on spending all day Saturday upgrading Psychficdotcom. Anyways, it insisted on being written before my sequel to _An Act of Kindness,_ which IS in the process of being written. At any rate, enjoy and I'd appreciate some reviews!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the characters of Psych and gain no money from this. This is for entertainment purposes only and no infringement is intended.

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**FLASHBACK: 1980**

Four-year-old Shawn Spencer scowled. He glared down at the trivia problem written out before him. In a fit of temper, he threw his pencil down, watching it bounce off the table's surface to fall to the floor.

Henry paused as he walked into the kitchen, noticing the pencil as it rolled to a stop. He bent down and picked it up. He looked from it to his angry son.

He raised an eyebrow, "Lose something, Shawn?"

"I give up!" huffed Shawn, crossing his arms and slumping back in the chair. "I can't figure it out."

Henry crossed the room to his son, stopping to stand beside him, "Figure what out?"

Shawn didn't raise his eyes, just shoved at the paper on the table, "Some stupid trivia question Gus gave me. He said I'd never figure it out, but I said I could. I bet him five dollars I could and-"

"Shawn," interrupted Henry with a firm tone, "What have I told you about betting?"

Shawn slunk down in his chair a little further, his voice sullen, "Not to."

"That's right. Don't you forget it again. Now," he continued, pulling out a chair and sitting, "What's the deal with this trivia question?"

Shawn looked up at his father, tears of frustration gleaming in his eyes, "I just can't figure it out! I've been staring at it for _hours_ and I still don't get it!"

"Hey, hey," placated Henry, pulling the paper around to study it. "Just settle down a minute. You can't solve this if you're angry; it stops you from seeing the whole picture. Now, I want you to close your eyes."

"Huh?" blurted Shawn, his frustration disappearing at the odd request.

A smile tugged at Henry's lips, "Close your eyes."

Shawn frowned, "Why?"

"I'm going to teach you a trick that will help you figure this out," explained Henry, sliding the paper back in front of his son.

Still frowning, Shawn slowly closed his eye, "Now what?"

"I want you to think about the question, you doing that?"

"Yes," answered Shawn, eyes shut tight.

"Okay. Now, I want you to visualize the problem. Every point of the question, every fact and every description, turn them into pictures in your mind and sort through them for the answer."

Shawn's brow scrunched in concentration and he unconsciously brought his fingers to his temples, rubbing them. He slowly managed to visualize the problem in his head, the images flashing by as he sorted through them. Suddenly, something he overlooked shot through his mind. He gasped at the find, his eyes snapping open.

Henry grinned, "You figure it out?"

Shawn brought shocked eyes up to his father, "Y-yeah. I-it was right in front of my face the whole time!"

"That's just it, Shawn. Everything you need is always right in front of you. You just have to pay attention."

Henry pushed himself to his feet and reached out to ruffle Shawn's hair, placing the pencil back down on the table. Shawn was still in a state of awe and didn't even object to the mussing of his hair. With a grin he turned and started to walk from the room. He stopped at the archway at his son's voice.

"Dad?"

Henry looked back at his son, who was fiddling with the pencil in his hands, "Yeah?"

A smiled tugged at the corners of Shawn's mouth, "Thanks."

Henry smiled and a feeling of warmth filled his chest. He nodded at Shawn and then walked out of the room.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Present Day:**

Shawn calmly walked through the Santa Barbara Police Department, his eyes and ears open for any information he could use to his advantage. He caught snippets of conversation as he passed by officers, but nothing had yet to catch his attention.

As he came close to Lassiter's desk he slowed his pace, trying to make himself invisible in plain sight. He slipped behind a pillar and leaned back against it, trying to look casual. He carefully listened to Lassiter's conversation with Juliet.

"-don't have time for this, O'Hara," argued Lassiter, his tone annoyed. Shawn rolled his eyes. When did Lassiter _not_ sound annoyed?

"I think this is a solid lead, Carlton," countered Juliet, sounding tired. "It's the best we've gotten so far on these murders."

"I am _not_ going to act on a _tip,_ O'Hara. I've had it with anonymous tips."

"Since when?" asked Juliet.

"Since Spencer!" growled Lassiter. "We can do this job ourselves, O'Hara. We don't need outside help. Besides, I think I've figured out who the killer is."

"What?" Juliet sounded shocked. "Who?"

"I just need to double check my source and then I'll divulge it. I'm just not entirely sure of it yet."

"Carlton, I'm your partner. We're supposed to share information."

"And I will, when I'm sure of its validity."

Shawn could hear Lassiter standing up from his desk and he readied himself for some quick maneuvering to not get caught eavesdropping. He listened carefully.

"Carlton!"

Juliet's barely restrained yell caused Shawn to jump, his ears attuned to small noises and not prepared for the angry yell. As he recovered, he heard Lassiter sigh loudly.

"What, O'Hara?"

"If you don't let me in on your information, I'm checking out this lead on my own."

"Fine!" Lassiter yelled, garnering the attention of a few neighboring officers. Shawn slunk closer to the pillar.

"Go ahead and check it out, O'Hara," Lassiter continued, "It won't lead to anything."

"Fine," returned Juliet.

"Fine," Lassiter returned right back.

Suddenly, Lassiter barged right past Shawn's pillar and Shawn flinched away, not wanting to be seen but unprepared for the man's sudden exit. The next second, Juliet stormed past on the other side of Shawn and he flinched the other way, throwing his arms up slightly in a ridiculous attempt at disappearing.

Shawn slowly blinked and then stared after Lassiter's and Juliet's retreating forms. Neither one of them had noticed his presence, too angry to see anything but where they were heading, Juliet to the Chief's office and Lassiter down to the lockup.

"Whew!" Shawn sighed, shaking his head slightly. "Talk about trouble in paradise."

Shawn didn't understand it. He thought Juliet and Lassiter were getting along better as partners, what with Juliet defending Lassiter against Shawn's criticism during the Weatherman murder case.

Pursing his lips, Shawn walked over to Juliet's desk and studied it. He was looking for anything about the case the two detectives were arguing about. He saw several folders, one open and the others closed underneath. With a glance to make sure he wasn't watched, Shawn snatched up the top folder and quickly scanned through it.

Three murders. All three victims were women between the ages of 28-33. All were also blond and established in their careers. All were murdered in the same way, their throats sliced. It looked as though Lassiter and Juliet were on the trail of a serial killer! Shawn's eyes widened as he put that folder down and picked up another, reading through the information and studying the victim's pictures. He grimaced at the sight of them, but forced himself to take in every gruesome detail.

He frowned when he noticed they were all wearing the same necklace around their blood-coated throats. It was obvious that the killer had put the necklace on his victim's after he had killed them, as they were bright silver and unmarred by blood.

The killer's calling card was a silver necklace? Odd, Shawn thought. He squinted at the evidence photos of the necklace. Something about the pendant was bothering him. Shaking his head slightly, he pushed the feeling away for the moment and continued to read. From what he could discern from the files, the killer targeted strong willed women among the other similarities. All three victims were in very respectable jobs and were considered leaders in their field.

Fear suddenly shot through Shawn at a realization. He couldn't help but notice that Juliet fit the profile of the killer's victims. He felt sick at the thought of the killer going after Juliet, so he forced the thought out of his mind; he couldn't deal with that right now.

As he read on, Shawn also noticed that all three women reported to the police about being stalked. They said a white van had been following them and would park outside their homes at night.

So, he stalked them before he killed them. Probably to learn their habits so he could choose just the right time to kill them. But why? What was the killer's motive?

Shawn's brow lowered and he shook his head, laying the last file back on Juliet's desk. He knew that serial killers didn't really need a motive, just a deluded reason that what they were killing was the epitome of everything that went wrong in their lives.

Shawn theorized that the killer was most likely male and his trigger for his killings was probably a mother that abandoned him when he was young to pursue a successful career or something to that extent. The mother probably gave birth to him at a young age and at around her late twenties, early thirties, abandoned him to further her own life.

Shawn couldn't help but see some similarities in his own mother in his reasoning. She had left to further her career as a doctor, leaving Shawn to live with his father alone when he was fifteen. Oh, that wasn't the only reason for the divorce. Shawn's mother and father had been fighting nonstop, if it weren't about money or work, it was about Shawn and how Henry was raising him. Shawn hadn't understood it. If his mother was so bothered about how Henry was raising him, why didn't she take him with her?

Shawn ran a hand through his hair and looked around Juliet's desk again, shaking those thoughts away. There had to be more. Suddenly, his eye caught on the notepad next to the phone. There were depressions on the paper from something being written on the sheet above it. In a flash of memory, Shawn remembered the note Juliet had clutched in her hand as she stormed off to the Chief's office.

Quickly, Shawn grabbed the marked paper and tore it from the notepad. That done he made his way over to Lassiter's desk. Again, Shawn glanced around to see if he was being watched. He frowned slightly when he saw no one paying attention to him. He guessed he'd been spending so much time at the precinct lately that his presence was just accepted and trusted. Shawn winced at that, hating that he was lying to the police all the time, but seeing no other way to continue his ruse.

He analyzed Lassiter's desk, rolling his eyes at how neat and precise everything was. His eye caught on the folder sitting in the center of the desk and he flipped it open. Shawn's eyes narrowed as he scanned it. Apparently, someone in lockup knew details about the serial killer and was coughing up information for a deal.

So, that was Lassiter's big source? Shawn understood Lassiter's reluctance to divulge where he was getting his information. Felons looking to make a deal certainly weren't very trustworthy in their information. That didn't explain his refusal to clue Juliet in on the information, though.

Finished with his snooping, Shawn looked down at the paper in his hand and then stuffed it into his pocket. He had to pay a visit to Gus.

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"No way, Shawn," refused Gus, walking to his car from the Pharmaceutical building. "Just forget it."

"Oh, c'mon!!" whined Shawn, jogging after his friend. "Gus! This case is huge!"

"I said no, Shawn," argued Gus, unlocking his car door and throwing his briefcase in the backseat. He turned to face his friend, "I have two reports to write about the new pain killers that just came in and I want to get them done tonight."

"Gus," toned Shawn, disappointed. "Reports? Seriously? You wanna do reports instead of investigating a… serial killer?"

Shawn whispered the last two words in a conspiratorial manner, and just like that Gus' interest was peaked.

"A serial killer? For real?"

"Yeah, man," nodded Shawn, excited. "I'm actually shocked it isn't all over the news. The cops must be keeping a tight lid on it."

"A serial killer?" Gus repeated again, shocked. "Damn. That _is_ huge."

"Damn straight," agreed Shawn, "So, you in?"

Gus looked undecided, "I don't know, Shawn. This may be out of our league."

"Out of our league?!" cried Shawn in indignation. "Gus, nothing is out of our league."

Gus stared at Shawn, his expression serious, "I mean it, Shawn. A serial killer is like the mother of all murder cases. This is major, man."

"Exactly," Shawn said, throwing arm around Gus' shoulders. "This would put _Psych_ in the big time, man. We'd have no trouble getting cases when we solve this."

"IF we solve it," stressed Gus, trying to bring Shawn back down to reality. "A lot of serial killers get away, Shawn. They are smart."

"But they aren't smarter than me," pressed Shawn, "C'mon, Gus. Let's take this case."

Gus stared at his friend, weighing his options. He didn't know why he even tried anymore, Shawn could convince him to do anything. He sighed.

"Fine, we'll take the case."

"Great!" shouted Shawn and then walked to his side of the car. Before he got in though, he looked across at Gus. "Now we just got to convince the Chief to let us in on the case and we're set!"

"What?!" shouted Gus, but Shawn ignored him as he shut his car door. Gus looked to the sky, then shook his head and got in the car. The question of how Shawn always managed to get him into these things hung heavily on his mind as he drove to the Police Department.

******Please Review!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes:** Thanks so much for the reviews and I'm sorry for the delay. The problem with writing a story inspired by a dream is that some major parts of the plot end up not working. I've taken a large plot point of this story out and am saving it for a different story. Don't worry, this story is still going to go somewhere, just not in the original direction I had intended.

I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's the most I've written with Shawn and Gus interacting together. I hope I kept them and everyone else in character! If Juliet seems a bit OOC at the end of this, there is a reason for it that will be explained in the next chapter. Oh, and there is a bit of Shawn/Juliet shipping in this story, but not too much more than what has been shown on screen. I suck at writing romance, so I doubt I'll ever cross into the relationship line with those two.

**Please review!**

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"Hurry, Gus!" Shawn cried out dramatically, stumbling his feet and clutching his head in feigned pain.

Gus couldn't keep the scowl off of his face as he supported his friend, half dragging him up the SBPD steps and into the building.

"Shawn," he hissed softly through clenched teeth, "This is a little over the top, don't ya think?!"

"No, I don't," Shawn hissed back, keeping his face downcast as he furtively glanced through his eyelashes to check for anyone within earshot. He continued to clutch his head, leaning heavily on Gus' support, "We have to make it a big show to get the Chief's attention. Now, wipe that scowl off your face and start looking concerned!"

After a quick sigh and roll of his eyes, Gus conceded and put on his worried face. With Shawn's continued charade of being psychic, Gus thought he was getting to be quite the actor for his part.

They hobbled up to Karen's office. Shawn frowned slightly when he saw that the door was closed. They stopped for a moment and Shawn tried to listen to the conversation coming from inside.

"The door's closed, Shawn," whispered Gus, glancing around him at the officers that were now looking at them. "Now what?"

"Shush!" Shawn hissed, then collapsed a bit against Gus and mewled in exaggerated pain as he listened.

"_...don't think it's a good idea, detective O'Hara."_

"_But Chief, Carlton is shutting me off. He has information about the case that he isn't tellin' me and when I told him about this phone call, he shrugged it off and told me to ignore it."_

"_I understand you're upset at detective Lassiter for his reluctance to share information, but I trust he has a good reason for it. Just because you are angry doesn't mean you should go off on this tip alone. This case is extremely serious, detective."_

"Great!" Shawn whispered, "They're talking about the case. Just stick to our plan!"

"What?" blurted Gus, eyes going wide. "Shawn, you ca-"

Gus was suddenly yanked into Karen's office as Shawn reeled into a full-blown psychic episode. It was all Gus could do to hang onto his friend.

"AH! Oh, boy!" cried Shawn, eyes shut tight as he continued to clutch both his head and Gus. "I- I'm seeing something! Oh, it hurts!"

"Mr. Spencer!" shouted a surprised and quite angry Karen Vick. "What the hell do you think you are doing?!"

Shawn answered by crying out in pain and collapsing, appearing to have passed out,

"Shawn!" gasped Gus, performing an Oscar-winning performance if he didn't say so himself. He held onto Shawn and maneuvered him into the chair next to the stunned Juliet.

Gus turned wide, scared eyes toward the perturbed Chief, "This started back at _Psych_ and its just been getting worse, Chief! He's never been like this for so long before. I- I didn't know what to do so I brought him here."

Karen rolled her eyes, taking in a deep breath and switching into 'Spencer Mode'. It was the only way she could tolerate the young man's psychic antics, "Very well, Mr. Guster, but Detective O'Hara and I were in the middle of a meeting."

Gus continued his worried act, "I-I'm sorry, ma'am-" He broke off at Karen's glare, "Chief! I mean I'm sorry, _Chief_. I just didn't know what else to do."

Shawn chose that moment to moan back to consciousness, having heard all that had been said. He was going to have to make Gus a badge or something for that performance. Shawn hadn't known his friend had it in him.

"Shawn?" queried Gus, looking down at him in concern. "You okay?"

Shawn moaned again and slowly blinked his eyes open, gazing around at the office like he was surprised he was there. Karen straightened and Juliet leaned toward him from her chair, trying to get a better look at him. Juliet's brow furrowed in worry. Shawn really did look out of sorts.

"Mr. Spencer?" toned Karen, trying to get the man to say something.

Shawn blinked at her, but stayed silent.

Juliet glanced at Karen before returning her gaze to Shawn, becoming more concerned at his silence. He was usually chatting nonstop after a 'vision'. She reached a hand out and touched Shawn's wrist, "Shawn?"

Shawn looked at her and he couldn't help the sudden warm feeling that swept over him at the sight of her worried eyes. He looked down at where her hand touched his wrist and absently wondered what it would be like to hold her hand in his. He had to fight to keep the smile from his face at the thought.

He finally managed a jerky nod, but still didn't say anything. He was trying to build some suspense before he revealed his vision. After seeing Shawn nod, Juliet leaned back and removed her hand. Shawn frowned. He wished she had left it there a little while longer. He stared down at where her hand had been, forgetting what he was supposed to be doing.

Gus was getting nervous, dancing a little on his feet and glancing around at Karen and Juliet. They were both waiting for Shawn to say something. Hell, Shawn was _supposed_ to be spouting off about what he saw in his vision, but he was just sitting there looking dumb. This was _not_ part of he plan.

Gus jabbed a finger in back of Shawn's neck, the action hidden from Karen and Juliet since he was standing behind Shawn's chair.

"Ow!" shouted Shawn, raising a hand to grip the back of his neck. He glared up at Gus.

"What is it, Shawn?" asked Gus in concern while still managing to glare right back at his friend. "You're not getting _another_ vision, are you?"

That seemed to jolt Shawn back to what they had planned. He brought his eyes back around to look at Karen and Juliet, "Uh, no. No... Just a headache from... whatever just happened. I- I don't even remember getting here."

Shawn looked around in confusion, appearing a little unsettled that he couldn't remember. Karen crossed her arms and lifted an eyebrow, leaning back in her chair.

"Something like this has never happened to you before, Mr. Spencer?" she asked, unable to keep the doubt from her voice. She was still angry about the unorthodox entry to her office the two young men had just performed. Why didn't anyone knock anymore?

"Uh, no," answered Shawn, his voice shaking a bit. "Not like this. This was... I don't know. It was just so out of control. Everything that I saw and felt, it was just so over-powering."

Karen narrowed her eyes. Shawn was being awfully serious and low-key after his most recent episode instead of his usual flamboyance. She wondered what he was up to now.

"What did you see, Shawn?" asked Juliet, eyes wide in curiosity. Her little argument with Lassiter was forgotten at Shawn's sudden arrival.

Shawn closed his eyes, raising a hand to his temple. He winced, "There was a woman, murdered... Someone slit her throat." Shawn's expression looked pained and his voice became soft, "So much blood..."

Karen and Juliet shared a look, knowing he was describing the serial killer's victims. How the hell did he know about them? Karen had made all information about that case classified to only the highest-ranking officers. She returned her gaze to Shawn, studying him.

"Go on, Mr. Spencer," Karen prodded, wanting to see how much Shawn knew.

Shawn tilted his head, eyes clenched tight as he fought for the fake memories, "Something's out of place... It's shiny, silver... A necklace! There is a silver necklace. The killer put it on the victim after he killed her- No... No, after he killed _them_. There were three murders!"

Both Karen's and Juliet's eyes widened at that. Not so much about the multiple murders, but about the necklace. That piece of evidence had been kept under wraps, very few people in the Department knew about it.

"Mr. Spencer, Mr. Guster," Karen began, leaning forward over her desk. "You are not to become involved in this case. That was classified information you just shared and I warn you to never repeat it again to anyone outside of this office. Do I make myself clear?"

"What?" blurted Shawn, eyes snapping open. "But… Three murders, all female, all blond, all young, and every one of them was murdered in the same way. A silver necklace was left at every crime scene. This is a serial killer we're talkin' about!"

"We are aware of that, Mr. Spencer," toned Karen, leaning back in her chair. "And that is precisely why you are not to be involved in this case in any way. We've managed to keep it out of the press so far, and we'd like to keep it that way. We are handling it just fine without your assistance."

"Oh, really?" asked Shawn, anger suddenly clouding his face. He gestured around the room, leaning forward, "Then where's your killer? Who is he? Do you have any clue at all?"

"Shawn!" warned Gus, grasping Shawn's shoulder and forcing him to sit back in his chair.

Karen looked furious and even Juliet looked angry at Shawn's outburst.

"Mr. Spencer." Karen ground out, her anger punctuating every syllable. "I advise you to leave this room immediately, before I have you forcibly removed."

Gus grabbed Shawn under his arm and tried to pull him up from the chair, "C'mon, Shawn. Let's go."

Shawn resisted Gus' pull, yanking his arm free from his grasp, "He's going to kill again, and soon. He's already picked his next victim."

"And how do you know this?" asked Karen, her tone carrying the warning that any wrong word from Shawn and he and Gus would be police escorted from the building.

"3234 19th Ave. S, Apartment 402," stated Shawn without hesitation.

Karen's mouth twitched and Juliet's jaw dropped open, shock written all over her face. Juliet's wide eyes danced from Shawn to Karen and back to Shawn.

"How do you know that address?" asked Juliet, her hand unconsciously fisting around the note it held. "How, Shawn?"

Shawn smirked, but there was no humor behind it. He tapped a finger to his head, not bothering to explain. He turned to Karen, "That's the address of the woman he's been stalking, just waiting for the right time to kill her. Who knows how much time we have to stop him?"

Karen stared at Shawn for a long moment, then shook her head, "That address came about by an anonymous tip. It wasn't even a woman that called it in. Frankly, tips should mean nothing to this case since the public doesn't even know of the serial killings yet. I don't trust it and we aren't going to follow up on it."

"But Chief!" Both Shawn and Juliet objected at the same time. They glanced at each other and then Juliet continued.

"But Chief, I really think we should at least check it out. It could be the break we've been looking for."

"I said no, detective, and that's final," Karen answered, her expression serious. "I will not waste man-power on false leads."

Juliet opened her mouth to argue, but closed it. She looked down at the floor to avert her face, but Shawn could see the anger still flushing her face.

"Chief-"

"Not one more word, Mr. Spencer," interrupted Karen, pointing a finger at Shawn. "I want you and Mr. Guster out of my office. Now. That goes for you, too, Detective O'Hara."

Juliet stood without a word and strode briskly from the office, letting the door fall closed behind her. Shawn stood and watched her go, looking through the office's windows as the junior detective walked to her desk.

"Did you hear me, boys?" asked Karen, raising an eyebrow at the young men that had yet to leave.

Shawn turned to her, "You're wrong about this."

Gus grabbed Shawn's arm and started tugging him toward the door, not having missed the red flush of anger on Karen's face at Shawn's words.

"Shawn," Gus ground out, punctuating his next words, "Let's. Go."

Shawn let Gus pull him from the office, but when the door fell closed he shrugged off Gus' hands. Gus stepped back and crossed his arms.

"Well," he said, sarcasm in his tone, "That went well."

Shawn tried to shake off his anger, but it was hard, "So it didn't go exactly as I'd planned."

"Exactly?" Gus chuckled. "Shawn, that went nothing like we planned. You said the Chief was going to let us in on the case after you played the episode out, because you were going to play it more serious this time. Well, you were definitely more serious this time, man. What the hell was that in there?" Gus then lowered his voice and glanced around before saying his next words, "And where did you get that address?"

Shawn grinned and suddenly all the previous anger and seriousness seemed to melt from his features. A familiar twinkle sparked in his hazel eyes and Gus pressed his lips together. Happy Shawn was back.

Shawn grabbed Gus' arm and started leading him toward the exit, "I'll tell you in the car. Let's go."

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"So, where did you get that address?" asked Gus as Shawn plopped into the passenger seat and closed the door.

Shawn took a moment to rake a hand through his wet hair, flipping it back so it no longer clung to his forehead. When had it started raining? Shrugging the internal question away, Shawn smiled at Gus and pulled a damp piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to him. Gus unfolded it and frowned at what he saw. The shading of a pencil revealed the scrawled address that had obviously been written on the paper above it, leaving only the depressions of the pen's words. It simply said: _Lassiter. Suspicious white van parked. 3234 19th Ave. S, Apartment 402_

Gus looked at Shawn, "Where did you get this?"

Shawn shrugged, "Juliet's desk."

Gus rolled his eyes, "I'm not even going to ask when you managed to get this, but what are we going to do now? We aren't on the case. And in all honestly, Shawn, I'm glad we aren't. The more I think about this serial killer case the more I think we should just stay out of it."

"Dude, you can't be serious. And when has the Chief tellin' us to stay off a case stopped us before?"

"Never, but… I don't know, Shawn," Gus frowned. "Karen looked really serious about this one."

"Aw," Shawn guffawed, "That don't mean nothin'. We just have to go about this our usual way."

"That being sneaking around?"

"Damn straight," grinned Shawn.

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"This is a bad idea, Shawn," groused Gus, a frown fixed on his face as he guided his car around the next turn. He gazed through the windshield as the wipers kept a steady rhythm, the rain falling in a constant shower.

"Gus, you know we need this case," sighed Shawn. He was getting tired of arguing with Gus about this. "With the current slump in our business, we may not be able to make our next payment on the lease. Solving a case this huge would guarantee us some steady business."

Gus shook his head and tried once again to get through to his friend, "I still don't think it's a good idea, Shawn. This is a serial killer. Get me? A serial killer! It's one of the most serious and feared crimes a person can commit. Serial killers are crazy, and extremely smart in most cases. They like to play with your head, man."

Shawn stared across at his friend and frowned, "Dude. What are you doing in your free time? Reading cheesy crime novels?"

"Free time?" sputtered Gus, giving Shawn a sidelong glance as he slowed the car to splash through several large puddles. "What free time, Shawn? If I'm not at the office, I'm being dragged all over town by you!"

"Gus," toned Shawn, "Dragged is such a strong word. I would say more like… lead. I lead you all over town. You are my sidekick, after all."

He smiled as he watched Gus press his lips together in frustration. Shawn waited for the outburst that he could see building, but he was disappointed. Instead of exploding in a temper, Gus breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly. He did this several times until Shawn rolled his eyes.

"Dude, you're not doing that Lamaze breathing thing again. Are you?"

Gus just glanced at Shawn and continued his breathing.

Shawn shook his head, "Seriously, Gus. You need to find a better, _manlier_, way to calm down. I feel like I should be timing the contractions. Hey! Why don't you just try counting to ten? That's a tried and true method… and it isn't gender specific."

"Shawn," Gus breathed, "Counting to ten stopped working when I was eleven. Counting to ten cannot even begin to counter the amount of stress you cause me on a daily basis."

Shawn grinned, "Oh, Gus. Flattery will get you nowhere with me. You know that."

Gus rolled his eyes, but he finally quit his measured breathing. After about fifteen more minutes of driving, Gus turned down 19th Avenue. The rain had finally let up to a light drizzle and the midday sun was starting to fight through some of the breaks in the clouds.

"Holy shit," breathed Gus, slowing the car.

"Damn," Shawn agreed, leaning forward in his seat. The street they drove down had an apartment building to their left and a parking lot to their right. There, in the parking lot next to the street, a white van was parked. It was large and stocky with no side windows except for the driver's and passenger's doors.

"Dude," Gus said softly, his voice trembling. "The serial killer could be in that thing right now!"

"Yeah, yeah," Shawn half listened to his friend, his eyes studying the vehicle as they closed in on it. "Just drive past it like normal, then turn at the end of the block and we'll park in the parking lot behind it a ways."

Gus bit his lip as they drove past the van. He hated those kind of vans. They always creeped him out, because in every cop movie he'd seen, the bad guy had the big white van and nothing good ever came from it. Gus began mumbling to himself as he turned the little blue car into the parking lot.

"This is not a good idea, this is _not_ a good idea, this is _not a good idea!"_

"Aw, quit your mumbling, Gus," smiled Shawn, then he pointed to a spot two rows behind the van. "Park there."

Gus parked the car and gazed at the van. He shut the car off, the wipers freezing in their motion, "Now what, Shawn?"

"I don't know," shrugged Shawn, "I hadn't thought that far ahead."

"What?!" exclaimed Gus, "You got me to drive all the way out here to check out a tip about the _serial killer's_ possible next _victim_ and you _don't have a plan?!"_

"Gus, chill," soothed Shawn. "Let's just sit here for a while and check it out."

"Oh, hell no!" argued Gus, reaching for the ignition to start the car. "I am not going to sit in the same parking lot with a possible serial killer without some kind of plan or _something_ that can ensure my continued well-being, Shawn."

"Gus," Shawn reached out and stopped Gus from starting the car, "Just give it a few minutes."

"Damn it, Shawn," Gus smacked Shawn's hand away and started to turn the key. "I said no, man. We are out of here."

Just as the car started to turn over Shawn reached over and ripped the keys out of the ignition and out of Gus' hand. The car made a grinding noise as it died. Gus glared at Shawn and tried to grab the keys back. Shawn jerked his hand away.

"What part of _company car_ do you fail to understand, Shawn? You could have messed something up in the ignition. Now, give me the damn keys!"

Shawn paused as if to think, then shook his head, "No."

Gus glared, "I _will_ make you give me them, Shawn."

Shawn rolled his eyes, "Oh, please. You have never beaten me in a fight."

"Well, maybe I always let you win," growled Gus.

That statement made Shawn pause and Gus used the distraction to his advantage, lunging for the keys. His hand grasped the keys before Shawn could jerk them away, but Shawn still had a hold on the keychain.

Gus tugged at the keys, "Give me the keys, Shawn."

Shawn tugged back, "No."

They quickly fell into a tug-of-war battle. After several minutes of shoving and pulling and swearing, they heard a snap and both of them fell back. Shawn smacked the back of his head against the window and Gus slammed his elbow into the steering wheel.

"OW!" they both cried at the same time, Shawn rubbing the back of his head and Gus rubbing his elbow. They looked at their hands and saw what had happened. Shawn still held the keychain, but Gus also still held the keys. The ring that had held them together had actually stretched and broken from the force of their pulling.

Gus smirked and gestured to the keys, "Ha! I win, and you owe me a new keychain."

Shawn scowled, but then continued to argue with his friend, "Let's at least go talk to the girl, Gus. We need some more info on this case if we're going to get anywhere."

Gus closed his eyes and sighed, giving up for the moment, "Fine, but let's make this quick."

Shawn nodded, then opened his door and stood. He looked up at the sky, seeing the clouds breaking up. At least it had stopped raining. He looked across at Gus over the roof of the car, shutting his door, "Let's go."

"Wait, Shawn," called Gus, "Let's walk away from the van. I don't want to get any closer to it than I have to."

Shawn rolled his eyes, "Fine. Whatever."

They both started to turn, but didn't get more than two steps when another car pulled into the parking lot. It quickly drove right up to them. It came to a stop so that it was between them and the white van. The driver got out and approached them.

"Jules?!" cried Shawn in surprise, eyes wide at her arrival. He glanced at Gus and saw that he was just as shocked. "What are you doing here?"

Juliet crossed her arms, a glare in her eyes, "I should be asking you that."

Shawn raised an eyebrow, "We're following up on that tip."

Juliet tried to keep the glare up, but couldn't. She sighed, "Yeah, that's why I'm here."

"Without back-up?" asked Gus, surprised at Juliet's actions. "Are you crazy?"

"Hey, I don't see any cavalry at your back," she defended, "I just wanted to talk to the woman in apartment 402, to let her know about the serial killer at the very least. And to check out the van."

Juliet walked around the car and started toward the van, but was stopped when Shawn suddenly grabbed her arm.

"Wait a second, Jules," placated Shawn. "Are you sure about this? I mean, let's go talk to the girl, but leave the van alone."

Gus looked on from where he still stood on the other side of Juliet's car. He had said he hadn't wanted to get near the van and he'd meant it.

Juliet shook her head, "The call was asking the police to check out the van because it had been parked here for the last few nights. The guy said no one in the neighborhood had seen it before."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," interrupted Shawn, catching onto something she said and something Karen had said, too, now that he thought about it. "Guy? A guy called in the tip?"

"Yeah," said Juliet, shrugging out of Shawn's hold. "Now let me do my job, Shawn."

Juliet started walking away as Shawn thought over what she'd said. He pursed his lips. It didn't fit the pattern that a guy would call in on the van. All the previous calls were from the victims themselves, having noticed being stalked by the van.

Shawn's eyes suddenly widened. His memory flashed back to the note, remembering how it had been addressed to Lassiter. That fact with what he'd learned now made him realize something. A chill swept down his spine.

"Jules!" Shawn cried, running up to her as she approached the van, gun in her hand. "Wait!"

"What, Shawn?" scowled Juliet, stopping five yards from the van.

Shawn trotted up to her, his eyes determined, "We need to get out of here. This whole thing, it was a-" Shawn broke off as he heard something. He tilted his head to the side.

Juliet sighed, "A what, Shawn?"

"Did you hear that?" asked Shawn.

"Hear what?"

"A beeping sound," Shawn answered, glancing around him for the source. "Just a few seconds ago…"

Shawn trailed off as his eyes caught something. There, reflected in a puddle under the rear of the van, Shawn could see the reversed numbers of a red LCD display, and it was counting down.

_Six seconds, five seconds…_

Shawn grabbed Juliet's arm, "GET DOWN!"

Juliet gasped in surprise as Shawn flung her down onto the wet pavement, landing hard on her back. She clung to him in shock as he threw his body over hers.

_Three seconds…_

Gus watched from where he still stood behind Juliet's car, his brow furrowing in confusion when Shawn shouted and threw Juliet to the ground.

_One second…_

Suddenly, the sight of his friends was obscured by blinding white light as the van exploded, a huge fireball rolling up into the sky. The sound deafened Gus so that he couldn't even hear his own scream.

"SHAWN!"

-----------------------------------

**End Notes:** What did ya think? I was a bit nervous about the whole 'psychic episode' part and Karen's reaction. I took a lot of cues from the _Pilot_ episode when Shawn was fighting to keep the McCallum case open because it wasn't solved. He really pissed Karen off and Shawn showed that he had quite the temper and absolutely no regard for authority figures. Oh, well. I hope you liked this chapter!

**Please Review!**


	4. Chapter 3

** Author's Notes:** First off, I am SO SO SO SO sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I was having some doubts about some areas of this story and I was stuck on a few plot points that I needed to figure out before writing this chapter. It is because of **GBFreak** from _Psychfic_ that I am able to give you chapter three. She let me bounce my plot and ideas off of her and gave me great feedback. She also helped me on some of the plot points I was battling. So, many thanks go out to **GBFreak!** Now, this story is going to be very complex, at least to write. So bare with me. It should read just fine if I write it correctly. Here's hoping I pull it off!

One other thing I just want to clarify is that this is not a story where Shawn gets real psychic powers. The title is more metaphorical than literal. When I first thought up this serial killer story, Shawn actually was supposed to get powers, but what I wanted to happen with that wasn't going to work and was just one too many things to stir into the plot pot.

At any rate, I hope this chapter is worth the wait. It is 22 pages long and around 10,000 words, so hopefully that will tide you over for a little while. I promise the wait for the next chapter won't be as long! Please review! I cherish every one of your comments!

**Chapter 3**

For a few agonizingly slow seconds, Gus stared at the burning wreckage in wide-eyed shock. Black smoke billowed up into the sky from what was left of the van, the rest of the vehicle scattered about the parking lot, some of the larger chunks of debris still burning. Gus stared at it all, but he couldn't see any sign of Shawn or Juliet. The shadow cast by the rising cloud of smoke made it hard to see much of anything near the van, save for the bright orange flames.

"My God," breathed Gus, "My best friend's been blown up."

With a quick shake of the head, Gus snapped out of his shock. He had to find Shawn. He had to find him, because Shawn was NOT blown up. He was NOT dead. Shawn would NEVER be dead. Shawn was going to live forever if Gus had anything to do with it. You hear that God? Gus gave the heavens a defiant glare. Shawn is off-limits!

Frantically fumbling for the cell phone in his pocket, Gus scrambled around Juliet's car and ran toward the burning van. His brown eyes scanned the ground as he ran, looking for any sign of them as smoke started to make its way into his lungs and the air got hotter. He fumbled with his phone's tiny buttons and misdialed 911 twice before punching the correct numbers.

"Shawn! Juliet!" he yelled, a few coughs escaping as he stumbled to a stop, the intense heat and billowing black smoke preventing him from moving any closer. Trying to suppress the urge to cough, he listened for the ringing in his ear to be picked up.

"Come on, come on, come on," he chanted into the phone, his eyes darting around him. The black smoke was already covering the sky and blocking out the sun that had just started to peek through the clouds. Gus frowned. It was getting harder and harder to see, almost like it was dusk instead of the middle of the day.

Swiping at his stinging eyes, Gus grimaced against the acrid smell of burning tires, metal, and gas. He raised an arm, trying to ward off the rolling heat that felt like it was slamming into him, "C'mon!! Pick up the damn phone!"

"_911 emergency response."_

"Finally!" Gus exclaimed, "Okay, I'm in a parking lot at- at- Damn it! What the hell is the address?!"

"_Sir, I need you to calm down."_

"Calm down? CALM DOWN?? Two of my friends have just been blown up and you want me to CALM DOWN?!" Gus gripped the back of his neck, barely registering the fact that a crowd was starting to gather in the lot.

"_Sir, I need you to tell me what happened and I'll get emergency services out to you as soon as possible."_

Gus scowled. He hated how calm and indifferent the lady sounded. It wasn't right, not when his world felt like it had just been blown up. Literally. Goddamn it! Why couldn't he remember the address? He looked around for street signs, but the smoke and heated air made it hard to see more than 15 feet, let alone all the way to the block corner. God, it was moments like these that he wished he had Shawn's memory. Shawn…

"Look," Gus started, shaking his head as his eyes watered from more than just the smoke, "A van has been blown up in a parking lot in the southern part of town and my friends were right next to it, one of which is a police officer. I haven't found them yet, but I _know_ that they are alive. I need fire trucks and ambulances here NOW."

"_Sir, we've already gotten several calls about a vehicle exploding in a parking lot and emergency services have already been dispatched. Are you at 3234 19__th__ Ave. S, sir?"_

Gus' eyes widened, recognizing the address, "Yes! That's it!"

"_Okay. Now you said there is an officer down?"_

"Yes," Gus' voice shook. "Detective Juliet O'Hara of the SBPD."

"_I'll relay that information to the emergency services. Now I'll just need you to stay on the line with me, sir, until they arrive."_

Gus scowled into the cell phone. Like hell he was going to stay on the phone. He was going to find his friends. He looked at the crowd gathering and ran up to a guy that looked somewhat trustworthy. He shoved the phone into the guy's hands, "Here. Talk to her. It's 911."

The man scrambled to get a hold on the phone shoved at him and was going to ask Gus a question, but Gus was already gone. The man frowned, but raised the phone to his ear.

Gus ran back toward the van, but had to stop again, arms raised against the flames, as the smoke and heat forced him back, "Shawn! Juliet!"

God, he was going out of his mind. How could this have happened? He was just arguing with Shawn less than ten minutes ago, and then BOOM! Gus' face twisted in worry. He shrugged out of his blazer and used it as a makeshift shield against the heat and smoke, holding it in front of his face. Hesitating only a second, Gus forced himself closer to the fire, crouching low in an attempt to avoid the heavy smoke.

"SHAWN!" Coughing, eyes watering. "JULIET!"

Gus doubled over into a coughing fit, hacking and gasping. God, the smoke was burning his lungs. He couldn't believe how thick and black it was, and the way it billowed around the van was grotesque. Grimacing, Gus finally managed to get his breath back somewhat and moved closer still. He could barely keep his eyes open, tears streaming down his face and streaking through the black soot that now seemed to be covering him from head to toe.

As he blindly shuffled forward, his shouts for his friends getting more and more strained, he suddenly tripped. The fall caught him completely off guard, not even having time to throw his hands out to catch himself. He hit the ground with an 'oof', but instead of the hard concrete he was expecting, the ground was soft and yielding. It took his smoke fogged brain a couple seconds to realize that he had landed on a person. That realization made Gus shoot up to his knees, hands patting the body lying before him, his blazer forgotten beside him.

"Shawn?" he coughed out, his friend's form slowly taking shape through his watery gaze.

Shawn was sprawled out on his stomach, several large pieces of smoldering wreckage covering his head and back, blocking the rest of his friend and Juliet from view. Gus immediately reached out and grabbed the metal to toss it away, but hissed and jerked his hands back when the warped metal burned his hands. Cursing himself at his rash action, Gus reached back and grabbed his discarded blazer. He covered his hands with the thick material and again grasped a piece of the wreckage. He quickly tossed it away, having already felt the heat through the cloth in the short time of contact.

Gus tried to remove the rest of the wreckage quickly, but the last chunk was heavier than he expected. He grunted as he threw it aside, causing another bout of coughing. He hunched over and clenched his eyes shut. God, his lungs were on fire!

When he finally managed to stifle the coughs, Gus straightened and then leaned over his friends. Shawn was sprawled across Juliet, his head resting on her shoulder and one arm wrapped around her waist. Both appeared to be unconscious and Gus saw blood matting Shawn's hair and trailing down his face. The sight of the blood scared Gus. It scared him so badly he panicked. He grabbed Shawn and Juliet's shoulders and roughly shook them.

"Shawn!" called Gus, his voice hoarse. "Juliet! C'mon, please… Don't do this to me… SHAWN!"

Juliet suddenly awoke with a gasp, inhaling the black smoke that surrounded them like a shroud. Her blue eyes shot open in fear as she coughed harshly, unable to breathe. She tried to sit up, but Shawn's weight kept her pinned to the pavement.

Gus squeezed her shoulder, focusing his attention on her. He made his hoarse voice as soothing as possible, "Juliet, just take it easy. You're okay. Take shallow breaths… That's it. Good, good."

Juliet slowly calmed down and controlled her breathing, but the slight coughs continued to plague her. Now fully aware, Juliet fixed her tearing eyes on Gus.

"Gus?" she whispered, her voice strained. "Wha…?"

She suddenly took notice of the weight lying across her and looked down, seeing dark spiky hair covering the head resting heavily on her shoulder. Gus could practically see the memories return as multiple emotions flittered across her face.

"Shawn!" she cried out, her strained voice cracking. She winced in pain, but her eyes sought out Gus. "Oh, God… Gus, is he okay?"

Gus was about to answer when sirens suddenly filled the air and he sagged with relief, but then he heard Juliet coughing again and he felt coughs beginning to rise within his own lungs. They had to get out of there. They were too close to the van.

Gus looked down at Shawn with worry and bit his lip, but was unable to smother the cough that wanted to escape. He hunched over and hacked, his throat burning and eyes streaming anew. He dimly heard Juliet's harsh coughing, but it felt like his hearing was muffled and he was beginning to feel lightheaded. Gus knew this was not a good thing. If they didn't move now, they would all succumb to the smoke. They'd been exposed to it for too long already.

Gus fought for a clean breath of air, reaching out and fumbling for Juliet. He managed to grasp her arm. His voice was no more than a gasping wheeze when he spoke, "We have to get out of here. Are you okay enough to help me with Shawn?"

All he heard were more coughs, but her arm moved and she grasped his hand, giving it a hard squeeze. Yes. She could help. Gus closed his eyes for a second in relief, then he gave her hand a squeeze back before releasing it. He reached out and worked his hands under Shawn and then gently lifted him off of Juliet. Gus turned Shawn as he lifted, his arm snaking around to support his friend's back. As Juliet twisted away and scrambled to her knees, Gus now had Shawn seated on the pavement, his arms holding the fake psychic up as Shawn's head hung limply forward.

The sight of his normally flamboyant friend so lifeless made something in Gus' chest twist painfully. God, this was all so wrong. Shawn should be bouncing up to his feet and making jokes. He shouldn't be so silent and still. The sight was just so alien to Gus, and it really scared the hell out of him.

"Gus?" Juliet coughed out. Her hand touched his arm and he looked at her. She quickly moved to Shawn's other side, pulled his arm over her shoulders, and wrapped an arm behind Shawn's back. She locked eyes with him, asking if he was ready with a look. She was coughing too hard to try and talk again.

Gus set his jaw and reflected her hold on Shawn, holding onto his friend tightly. He glanced across at Juliet, "Stay as low as you can manage-" He broke off with a harsh cough, eyes stinging, and didn't bother continuing. It didn't really matter. They could crawl on their stomachs and still be surrounded by the thick smoke.

They began walking forward, hunched over from both Shawn's weight and to avoid the smoke. Gus squinted his burning eyes and hoped they were going the right direction as they stumbled along, both of them coughing harshly. A splash of coldness suddenly struck Gus and he almost fell to his knees, but managed to keep his feet. Juliet also stumbled, but caught herself. Before Gus could take another step forward, another wave of cold slammed into him and he suddenly realized it was water.

The realization made Gus almost giddy with happiness. Help was just a short distance away. Gus quickened their pace and they quickly broke through the shroud of smoke and were greeted with flashing lights and a crowd of people held at bay by yellow police tape.

And the noise… God, it was like someone had just flipped the volume up to full blast. Wincing at the assault on his suddenly sensitive eardrums, Gus coughed and tried to call for help. He barely even took in a breath to shout when hands were grabbing him and pulling him forward. Gus gasped and felt the world tilt as the clean air filled his smoke damaged lungs, triggering his worst coughing fit yet. He doubled over, the hands that gripped his shoulders the only things keeping him upright. Dear Lord, he was going to cough up a lung.

When Gus managed to get his breath back, he noticed a voice speaking to him. He realized it was a fireman holding him up and the man was asking him if he was okay. Now, what kind of a stupid question was that? Of course he wasn't okay. Shawn would have had a hay day if someone had asked him a dumb question like that. Oh, crap! Gus panicked, bloodshot eyes going wide. Where was Shawn?

"Shawn!" Gus tried to shout, but what he heard was an undignified squeak that sounded a little like Shawn's name. Well, that was embarrassing. He coughed, cleared his throat and tried again.

"Shawn!"

That was much better. Gus looked around, ignoring the fireman pulling him toward a nearby ambulance and trying to see his friend. He finally caught sight of Shawn lying on the ground several feet away, surrounded by paramedics. Juliet was sitting on the ground near him with her own attending EMTs, but her eyes were glued on the fake psychic beside her.

Gus closed his eyes for a moment in relief, feeling a little bit of the weight crushing his chest easing at the knowledge that Shawn was getting the help he needed. Trusting the paramedics to take care of Shawn, Gus finally let the fireman lead him away. He suddenly felt exhausted.

As the fireman led him to the back of an ambulance and the paramedics waiting for him, Gus heard the squealing of tires as another car slid into the parking lot. He sat down on the edge of the ambulance and an oxygen mask was quickly placed over his nose and mouth. Good Lord, it was like pure bliss as the welcome clean air filled his lungs. He greedily took in the fresh air and then spared a look at the newest arrival to the scene. Gus took in a sharp gasp at the sight, triggering a coughing fit. He put a hand to his chest and nodded to the paramedics to signal he was okay, but he kept his eyes on the man and woman now standing in the middle of the chaos before him.

As Gus watched, Carlton Lassiter slowly scanned the area. Gus' eyes widened as the man zeroed in on him. As the lead detective strode toward him, Karen following behind, Gus suddenly wanted to disappear. Lassiter looked _pissed._

"What in the name of sweet justice are _you_ doing here, Mr. Guster?" came the hard tone as Lassiter stopped before him. Karen stopped a step behind him and crossed her arms. She seemed satisfied to let Lassiter handle the situation at the moment.

Gus gave him a weak grin from behind the oxygen mask, his red eyes switching back and forth between the two. Well, so much for the sympathy vote. They both obviously thought he was fine enough to be angry with him. Gus looked down at the pavement and sighed. Oh, that was a mistake. Good God! He was so tired of coughing! He hunched over as he gasped and coughed, the oxygen mask suddenly not helping like it should. Hands gripped his shoulders hard and he winced.

"Mr. Guster! You need to calm down!" ordered Lassiter, giving Gus a little shake as he continued to cough.

Gus opened his eyes, not even realizing he had closed them, and was surprised to see Lassiter crouched before him and Karen standing next to him. She reached out and rubbed his back, concern in her eyes. The paramedics behind him and beside him were buzzing about, taking his pulse and other readings. Gus wasn't really paying attention to them, though. He finally decided to do what Lassiter ordered and tried to calm his breathing. Slowly, the coughs tapered off and he could breathe again. He sagged in relief, now more exhausted than ever.

"We need to get him to the hospital, sir," said a paramedic behind him, speaking to Lassiter. "It's nothing serious, we just want to get his lungs checked out to surmise the damage done by the smoke inhalation."

Lassiter nodded, but he kept his grip on Gus' shoulders. His blue eyes bored into Gus as he spoke, his tone demanding, "Where is O'Hara, Gus? We heard on the radio that she was down. Where is she?"

The questions surprised Gus, and the thought of Juliet reminded him about Shawn. Tears filled his eyes and Lassiter looked alarmed at the sight. "Where is she?!"

Gus blinked and a tear slipped free to track down his soot-covered face. He looked to where he last saw Shawn and Juliet, but they were no longer there. He felt panic rise up within him.

"Shawn," he gasped out, his eyes darting around.

"Spencer?" blurted Lassiter, narrowing his eyes. He should have known the supposed psychic was involved in this. Especially since he knew that if Gus was around, the annoying young man was never too far away. He gave Gus a shake to get his attention, "I don't care about that little weasel right now, Mr. Guster. I need to know about O'Hara. Where is she?!"

"Detective Lassiter!" came Karen's disapproving voice. She glared at her lead detective, causing Lassiter to glare back. He wasn't backing down on this. She sighed, looking down at Gus and taking in the panicked expression, "What's wrong, Mr. Guster? Do you know where Detective O'Hara and Mr. Spencer are?"

Gus dragged his eyes back to the police chief, but as he was about to speak a shout filled the air.

"GUS!!"

Gus shot to his feet, causing Lassiter to fall back to the ground. He tore the oxygen mask from his face and shrugged the paramedics away, "SHAWN!"

His shout burned his throat and triggered a few coughs, but he smothered them quickly. He fought off the paramedics trying to keep him in the ambulance and shoved Lassiter out of his way. Gus had to get to Shawn. He'd never heard his friend sound so scared.

"GUS!! JULES!!"

Gus ran toward the shouts, his panic giving him renewed energy. His route took him to the back of another ambulance where a swarm of paramedics were struggling with someone lying on a stretcher. Shawn.

"Shawn!" yelled Gus, running to his friend.

Shawn suddenly stilled in his struggles, blinking in an attempt to focus his blurred vision. He could make out what looked to be his best friend running toward him. "Gus," he breathed in relief, coughing and sagging back onto the stretcher. God, his head hurt. He couldn't think straight it hurt so badly.

"Jesus Christ, Shawn," wheezed Gus, fighting back coughs and pushing some of the paramedics aside so he could get to his friend. He stopped at his side and took him in with wide eyes. Shawn was strapped down to the stretcher, which was standard protocol when transporting a patient, but Gus could see that they had only gotten so far as his legs. Shawn must have woken up at that point and had started to fight. Damn it, Shawn. Gus shook his head.

"Gus," gasped Shawn, suddenly reaching out and gripping Gus' hand. Gus jumped in surprise; the grip was crushing. He looked down at his friend and felt his stomach twist at the fear he saw in Shawn's unfocused eyes.

"Gus," Shawn gasped again, "Jules? Is- is she okay? I just- …I can't remember! My head… God, it hurts, but… Jules? Is she okay? Please tell me…"

Gus stared at Shawn in open shock, watching as tears filled Shawn's eyes and spilled down his soot and blood smeared face. Gus didn't know if the tears were from the pain or the fear that Juliet wasn't okay. It was very rare that Gus saw Shawn in such a state, and the times he recalled he had tried to forget. They were the times when the world seemed to be falling apart for his friend, causing his usual humor and sarcasm to disappear and reveal what Shawn kept inside. Gus glanced around and hated the fact that so many were seeing his friend so bare. He really hoped Shawn wouldn't remember this.

"Gus?"

Shawn's small voice brought Gus' attention back and he looked down at his friend. Shawn's hand began to tremble in Gus' grip and Gus gave it a squeeze to try and reassure him, "She's okay, Shawn. A little banged up and she inhaled a little too much smoke, but she's okay. You saved her life, Shawn. You're the one that got the raw end of the deal, man."

Gus watched as Shawn visibly relaxed, but then Shawn's eyes clamped shut and he raised his free hand to hold his head. His face twisted in pain and Gus thought his hand was going break Shawn was gripping it so fiercely.

"Shawn!" Gus shouted in alarm, "What is it?"

Shawn moaned, rocking slightly on the stretcher. "It hurts… My head, Gus. Gawd…"

Gus glared at the paramedics, "Do something!"

One of the paramedics looked angry, "That is what we were trying to do! Now, step back so we can do our job."

Anger clouded Gus' face and he took a step forward, but then someone stepped between Gus and the paramedic, "Take it easy, Sam. The man's just worried about his friend."

"Rick!" exclaimed the paramedic Gus now knew as Sam, "What are you doing here? You're off duty today."

"I was driving by and stopped to see if I could help out. The other ambulance had a rookie on the crew and welcomed my help, so I've stuck around to see if anyone else needed me," Rick replied, shrugging it off. He turned to Gus and smiled, "You got your friend calmed down, man, but now these guys gotta finish their job."

Gus studied the man before him and then sighed. Nodding slowly, Gus conceded that he was right. Reluctantly, he began to slip his hand from Shawn's, but Shawn's grip tightened and stopped him.

"Gus? Don't…"

Shawn's strained voice came from behind the paramedics now hovering over him, strapping his upper torso to the stretcher and bracing his head. Shawn began to struggle again, panicking at being restrained.

Gus' face twisted in apology as he worked his hand free from Shawn's, "I'm sorry, Shawn, but they have to take care of you. You have to go to the hospital. Please, you need to calm down."

Shawn acted like he didn't hear any of Gus' words, his empty hand grasping at the air. Gus swallowed thickly and took a step back.

"Gus!"

The paramedics rolled the stretcher into the back of the ambulance.

"GUS!"

The ambulance doors slammed shut. The siren wailed and the vehicle surged from the parking lot. Gus stood separated from the people crowded around him, watching the ambulance drive away. He was tired. He was just so tired. Tired of trying to keep his breathing shallow so he didn't cough. Tired of telling himself everything was going to be okay, and now he hated himself for leaving his best friend alone.

Slowly, he turned and looked around him. He saw the paramedics from his own ambulance watching him, as well as Karen and Lassiter. The paramedics looked like they were wondering if they could now get him in the ambulance without being attacked. Karen had an expression of sadness on her face that Gus had never seen before, and Lassiter had this stupid look that was a cross between shock and guilt. Anger again rose up in Gus and he lashed out, mad at himself and the people around him.

"Did you enjoy the show?" he spat, the inflection in his voice causing a few coughs to burn his throat. He glared at Lassiter, who actually looked a bit chastised.

"I talked to one of the paramedics," Lassiter spoke, ignoring Gus' question. "O'Hara has already been taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, a slight head trauma and some minor burns."

The subject change to Juliet's condition was like dumping cold water on Gus' anger, and he immediately felt guilty. Both for losing his temper and for not asking after Juliet's well being. He was sure she was fine, just like he had told Shawn, but he hadn't actually went to find out.

Shaking his head, Gus walked toward the paramedics and the ambulance. As he was climbing into the back for the ride to the hospital, Lassiter came running up.

"Hold on a second!" he called, coming to a stop at the back doors. "Can you tell me what happened here?"

Gus looked up at the charred skeletal remains of the van, still being dowsed with water. The memory of Shawn and Juliet hitting the pavement flashed before his eyes, and then the van exploding mere seconds later replayed in his mind and he winced. He locked eyes with Lassiter.

"Shawn pushed Juliet to the ground and then the van just exploded," he told the detective.

"That's it?" blurted Lassiter, wanting more.

"That's it," replied Gus, ducking his head. The ambulance doors slammed shut and it drove away, the siren silent.

Lassiter stood much the way Gus had before, watching the boxy white emergency vehicle drive away. He wanted to know more. He wanted to know what had almost caused his partner to be killed. He had to talk to O'Hara. Lassiter turned and walked through the crowd toward his car, planning on heading straight to the hospital.

* * *

Dark eyes in the crowd followed Lassiter's movements as he strode to his car and then drove off. The man internally cursed a blue streak. This didn't go at all like he had planned. The wrong people fell into his trap. He knew the girl was Lassiter's partner, but those other two… Who the hell were they? How did they know about his message? Well, he got a good look at the both of them and now he just had to do a little digging to find out who they were. They should have just stayed out of it. They had no idea what they had gotten themselves into.

* * *

**  
**

Gus sat beside Shawn's bed, an oxygen tank at his side and the clear mask over his face. The whole apparatus was annoying and just plain in the way, but he was told he needed to stay on the thing for the next 24 hours at the least. The doctor had told him that he'd had a very bad case of smoke inhalation, and that if he had spent just a minute longer within that smoke he would have succumbed and passed out.

Gus shuddered. He tried not to think of what would have happened if he had passed out. He would probably be dead, along with Shawn and Juliet. It was just so close… too close. How the hell had Shawn known the van was going to explode? If he hadn't taken Juliet to the ground, they both would have been caught in the explosion. Gus was sure of that. He would never forget the way the fire had exploded outward, obliterating his view of his friends. Gus sighed. He'd probably be having nightmares about it for months.

Shaking his head, Gus tore his eyes from watching Shawn at a muffled cough. He looked across to Juliet. She was sitting on the other side of Shawn's bed and nursing her own oxygen tank. Man, they sure were a sight. Shawn would probably freak when he woke up to see two yahoos with masks and tanks hovering over him.

And Shawn would wake up soon. He had to, because if Gus had to wait much longer he was going to go insane. It had already been too long, at least for Gus. The doctor had said Shawn would hopefully wake up within the hour, but he had also said it was hard to say for sure when dealing with a head trauma. While Shawn had regained consciousness back at the parking lot, he was never fully cognizant and had fallen unconscious again halfway to the hospital. He'd been out ever since, but the doctor was pretty confident no serious damage had occurred since he had regained consciousness for even that short period of time. They'd put Shawn through both an MRI and a CT scan, but the results from the MRI would take a day and the CT scan results would take one week at the least. Gus didn't know if his nerves could handle the 24-hour wait for the MRI, let alone seven days for the CT.

Gus sighed. At the moment the diagnosis was a bad concussion. Of course, the doctor also had to say there was no guarantee that no damage had occurred until Shawn woke up. The possibility, no matter how small, that Shawn could have brain damage was stressing Gus out to no end. If Shawn would just WAKE UP…

"How is he?"

Both Gus and Juliet jumped at the voice, and Gus twisted around to see Carlton Lassiter standing in the doorway. Huh. That was a surprise. He pulled his mask down, letting it hang around his neck.

"He's got a bad concussion," Gus informed him, reaching up to massage his throat. His voice sounded so rough. He cleared his throat, "We're just waiting for him to wake up. He passed out again on the way to the hospital."

Lassiter nodded, and for a second Gus thought he saw worry cross the man's face as he gazed at Shawn's still form. But if it was there it disappeared so quickly that Gus thought he'd imagined it. It would just be nice to know that the callous detective cared even a little bit for Shawn. Gus knew Shawn considered the man a friend and he hoped Lassiter thought the same--at least to some degree. Sure, Shawn got under the man's skin to no end, but Lassiter just made it so easy for him to do.

"O'Hara," Lassiter toned, tipping his head toward the hallway. "I need to talk to you."

Juliet glanced at Gus, then let her eyes drop to Shawn. She didn't want to leave. "Can't it wait, Carlton?" she asked, her voice muffled by the mask.

"No, it can't," replied Lassiter, and even Gus recognized that tone. He used it on Shawn whenever he had reached the end of his tolerance.

Juliet sighed, coughed slightly, and then pushed herself to her feet. She maneuvered the tank around on its wheels and pushed it ahead of her as she followed Lassiter out of the room. Lassiter let her walk past and with one last look at Shawn and Gus, shut the door.

Gus frowned, but then shrugged. He replaced the mask over his nose and mouth and leaned back in his chair, his tired eyes back to watching over his friend.

* * *

Juliet quirked an eyebrow when she saw Lassiter close the door to Shawn's room. She wondered what was so important he couldn't wait to speak with her. She understood he would want to know what had happened back in that parking lot, but she'd only been at the hospital for an hour. She thought she'd have more time before Carlton came asking questions. Juliet wanted to put this conversation off for as long as possible.

"What is it, Carlton?" she asked, abruptly deciding to just bite the bullet and get it over with so she could go back to Shawn. She pulled the oxygen mask down, letting it hang loose.

Lassiter stood for a moment and looked at his partner. She still wore her soot stained clothes and her blond hair was a mess. Her eyes were bloodshot and rimmed with red, and she was pale. She looked, quite simply, like hell.

"Are you all right?"

Juliet blinked her wide eyes and straightened at the unexpected question. She frowned, her eyebrows scrunching together in confusion, "I'm fine. I have a bump on the head, but no concussion, just one doozy of a headache. There are a few burns on my leg, but they're barely first degree, and I breathed in a bit too much smoke. That's why I have this thing," Juliet kicked the tank lightly, her boot causing a metallic pinging sound. "I only have to stay on it a few more hours. I didn't inhale as much smoke as Gus, but I'll probably be coughing over the next couple days."

Lassiter nodded, pressing his lips together. He thought for a moment how to go about what he wanted to know. In the end he decided to just be direct, it was how he usually dealt with things. No sense changing that now just because it was Juliet.

"What the hell were you doing at that address by yourself?"

Juliet's eyes narrowed and she couldn't help getting defensive, "I wasn't alone."

"Oh, right," scoffed Lassiter, "Like Spencer and his tag-along are any kind of backup. Are you crazy? What were you doing getting them involved in this, anyway? This case is classified!"

At Lassiter's raised voice a few nurses looked up at them from the nurses' station and Juliet pressed her lips together, glancing at the people milling around them. She grabbed Lassiter's arm and maneuvered them into an adjacent hallway with less people.

"They were already there when I got there," Juliet hissed, trying to keep her voice low.

"What?" asked Lassiter, surprised. " How the hell did they know about the case and that address?"

Juliet sighed, coughing slightly, "Shawn had a vision at the station that pretty much told him all about the serial killer. He even knew about the address I wanted us to check out. The chief ordered Shawn to stay out of it, but you know Shawn." Juliet purposely left out the fact that the chief had also told her to not follow the lead.

"That little…" Lassiter clenched his jaw, working through his anger. He took a deep breath and pushed through it, "Okay, that explains why Spencer was there, but what were _you_ doing there?"

Anger flushed Juliet's face, adding color to her pale skin, "I told you I was going to check it out."

"Oh, come on!" objected Lassiter. "I didn't think you were serious! You're smarter than to go out on a tip like that alone, and I knew you would go to Karen first and she'd say no…." Lassiter stopped, looking down at Juliet with narrowed eyes. "You did go to her and she _did_ turn you down, didn't she?"

Juliet's silence and downcast face were enough of a confirmation for Lassiter, and he threw his hands up, "Are you nuts? You directly disobeyed an order from the Chief? I could tell Karen was mad about something, but I never expected this. Of all the stupid-"

"I screwed up! Okay?" interrupted Juliet, her eyes glistening as tears pricked them. "I screwed up and now Shawn is lying in a hospital bed because of ME."

Juliet turned away and closed her eyes, a tear escaping to trail down her face, "He saved my life, Carlton. If Shawn wouldn't have been there, I'd be dead right now, because I _did_ go to that address and I _did_ go on my own. And it was all because I felt I had to prove myself."

Juliet turned back to face Lassiter, who was staring at her in shock. Anger and hurt twisted her features as more tears welled in her eyes. She took in a breath and her voice cracked with emotion, "I'm sick of it, Carlton. I'm just sick of it! Of trying to prove myself worthy of the job I have. Of trying to prove myself to _you!_ And now because of that I've put a good friend in the hospital. How am supposed to deal with that _and_ you harping on me telling me things I already know?!"

Lassiter stared at Juliet and opened his mouth, but then closed it. He didn't know what to say. He had no idea Juliet felt that way. She was the most intelligent and capable partner he'd ever had, especially considering how young she was. Surely she had to know that. Granted, _he_ would never say it to her face, but others must have praised her abilities.

"Juliet…"

"Don't," Juliet interrupted, not letting Lassiter continue despite the fact that he used her first name. He'd _never_ done that before, "I don't- I _can't_ hear it right now. I just… I need to be alone for awhile."

Lassiter watched wordlessly as Juliet turned and walked away with as much dignity as she could muster while toting an oxygen tank. He watched her until she turned the corner and disappeared. Taking in a deep breath, Lassiter leaned back against the wall and looked up at the ceiling, letting the breath out in a long sigh. Crap. Why couldn't anything ever be easy? Now not only did he have these new revelations about his partner, but he still hadn't gotten the information he had come here to get from Juliet in the first place.

Lassiter banged his head on the wall, knowing he didn't have the guts right now to confront Juliet again. He'd have to stick around and talk to Spencer when he woke up. Damn it.

* * *

Awareness came with pain, which grew the more aware he became. Dear God, someone was pounding on his head with a hammer, and each swing was getting harder and harder because with every beat of his heart it hurt more and more. He wanted to stop it, but he didn't know how. He tried to open his eyes, but it felt like they were glued together. If Gus was playing tricks with the superglue again, he SO went too far with this one. Gawd, his head hurt. Pain, pain, go away. Don't ever come back, not any day. He moaned.

"Shawn?"

Gus? Ooh, he better not be holding a tube of superglue or a hammer. Big time payback would be coming if he were. Ah, hell. Head. Hurt. Stop.

"Shawn? You wakin' up?" came Gus' voice again, a lot closer this time and the increase in volume caused whoever was pounding on his head to switch from an ordinary hammer to a sledge. Shawn winced, gasping in a breath.

"That's it, Shawn," coaxed Gus, and Shawn felt someone lay a hand on his shoulder. "You've been sleeping way too long, man. Wake up."

Groaning, Shawn finally managed to crack his eyes open. He stared up at a dark blob that he guessed was Gus when it moved. It was too hard to keep his eyes open, so he let them slide closed again.

"No, no, no, Shawn. Don't close your eyes. Stay awake," panicked Gus' voice and Shawn felt a few slaps to his face. Ow, ow, ow! That doesn't help the head, dude. Shawn moaned again.

"Stay awake, Shawn!" yelled Gus, the loud sound making Shawn cringe and force his eyes open again.

"Gus," Shawn rasped out, the very sound of his voice hurting his head and causing his dry throat to burn. He coughed.

"Yeah, Shawn. I'm here, man," Gus assured, smiling brightly. He looked up and spotted the call button and pressed it... about fifty times. "You okay?"

Eyes at half-mast, Shawn blinked slowly and Gus began to come into focus. His head continued to pound.

"Hurts."

"What? What hurts, Shawn?" questioned Gus as a nurse entered the room. He looked to her, "He's awake, but he's in pain."

She nodded and quickly exited the room as Shawn answered his friend's question, "Head. Head hurts."

"Okay, Shawn," Gus tried to soothe his friend. "Just take it easy, okay?"

The nurse came back into the room with a syringe and the doctor in tow. The doctor grabbed Shawn's clipboard and walked around to the other side of the bed and studied his patient. He smiled.

"Nice of you to join us, Mr. Spencer. I'm Dr. Branson," he greeted, "Now, I'm sorry for the pain you're feeling, but we kept you off of any major painkillers in order to help coax you awake. We'll remedy that straight away, son."

Dr. Branson nodded to the nurse and she quickly injected something into Shawn's IV. Shawn watched her as his eyelids slowly lowered.

"Whoa, wait a minute, Shawn. You can't go back to sleep yet," Dr. Branson quickly called, flipping his little flashlight out and then forcing Shawn's eyes open one by one. He flashed his light into them and Shawn jerked, inhaling sharply at the spikes of pain the light caused.

"Easy, Shawn. I'm just checking your pupil response," the doctor toned softly, and then glanced at the nurse. "Reaction is a little slow, but they're equal." He looked back down at Shawn and tried to catch his attention. "Okay, Shawn. I need to ask you some questions, okay? Answer them as best as you can."

Shawn carefully nodded.

"Okay," began the doctor, "Do you know where you are?"

"Hospital."

"Good, good. Do you know what year it is?"

"2007."

"How about your full name?"

"Shawn Anthony Spencer."

"Okay. Who is the president?"

"George Bush… the sequel," Shawn smirked. He was starting to feel better. Wonderful warmth was spreading through him, dulling the pain throbbing in his skull.

The doctor chuckled and Gus, who'd been paying rapt—and nervous—attention, rolled his eyes.

"I guess that's right," smiled Dr. Branson, "Just one more. Do you remember what happened to put you in the hospital?"

Shawn's smile fell and confusion suddenly clouded his features. He was silent for a moment and then fear clutched his chest. He couldn't remember. His hazel eyes darted around the room in search of some clue to help him. Anything. He spotted Gus and took in his soot covered clothes and the oxygen mask that hung around his neck, noticing both things for the first time. Concern suddenly hit him, followed by guilt. He hoped Gus was okay. He should have seen that before.

"Shawn?" asked Dr. Branson when no answer came. It looked like the pain medication was starting to kick in, as Shawn was slow to bring his attention back to the doctor.

Shawn blinked a few times. He had to get his mind back on track, but everything was getting fuzzy and the struggle to think was getting harder. Okay, soot and oxygen. That meant fire. Shawn's brow furrowed as he fought to remember something about fire, but he came up blank. He brought his gaze up to meet the doctor's and slowly shook his head. His voice shook, "No. I- I don't remember."

Gus felt alarm rise up within him at those words, and if he was feeling upset at the lost memory he knew that Shawn was probably feeling worse. Shawn never forgot anything, at least nothing that was important, and Gus knew the blank hole in Shawn's memory had to be making him freak out. Not that anyone watching would know. Shawn had his usual mask firmly in place, but Gus saw the way his hand clutched at the sheets and how his eyes wouldn't make contact with anyone. As Shawn had once said to him, it was all in the eyes. And as Gus caught one of his friend's fleeting glances he had his answer. Shawn was scared.

"That's okay, Shawn," assured the doctor. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Shawn struggled to think, and then answered, "Fighting with Gus in his car."

Gus' eyes widened. He'd forgotten about that. He looked to the doctor, "That was right before it happened."

Dr. Branson nodded, then he smiled down at Shawn, "Some memory loss happens with head trauma, Shawn, and you may recover the lost time as you heal, but you may not. I want you to understand that it's normal, okay? It's practically an expected occurrence."

Shawn nodded slowly and his breathing slowed, but it wasn't the doctor's words that calmed him. He was still upset that he couldn't remember, but the drugs had taken hold of him and he was going numb. His mind felt like it was drifting away and he was struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Okay," Dr. Branson toned. "I think we need to let Shawn rest." He looked at Gus, "He'll probably be more himself the next time he wakes and he'll stay awake for a longer period of time. It doesn't seem that he's suffered any ill effects from the concussion except for the slight memory loss. I'm confident he'll make a full recovery, but we'll keep him overnight for observation just to be sure, and we'll have those MRI results tomorrow."

Gus nodded and looked down at his friend, whose eyes were sliding shut, "You'll be okay, Shawn."

* * *

Shawn felt like he was floating through the air, but the heady feeling was beginning to make him nauseous. He moved his head to the side to try and escape the feeling, but moving made his stomach lurch in reaction. Oh, Gawd. He was going to hurl. Well, hurl again, he amended. He vaguely remembered waking a couple other times and being sick, but he couldn't remember how he went about getting help. He groaned.

"Shawn?"

Oh. Making a pitiful noise was evidently the ticket. Okay Gus, help your buddy out here. Just don't let me puke in my lap. Ugh. That thought only served to worsen Shawn's nausea and he groaned again, forcing his eyes open. He saw Gus hovering over him and tried to speak without losing the contents of his stomach.

"Sick," he managed to mumble, and good God. Was that not just pathetic?

Gus turned and grabbed a basin sitting on the table behind him. He reached up and made sure his oxygen mask was securely in place, not wanting to smell what was about to take place. The super-smeller was both a gift and a curse.

"Okay, Shawn," Gus soothed in a muffled voice, snaking a hand behind Shawn's back to help him sit forward. "Here we go."

Shawn wanted to ask where they were going, but aborted that train of thought as what was left in his stomach made a reappearance in the bowl Gus held before him. When he was finished, Shawn fell back to the pillows with a grunt. That sucked. That sucked out loud.

"This sucks." Shawn decided to share his opinion with his friend, rolling his eyes in Gus' direction.

"Dude," Gus shook his head, oxygen mask still in place, "This more than sucks. It's a living nightmare if you ask me."

"So, what's the damage?" Shawn asked, raising a hand to rub his head.

"Well, you have a pretty bad concussion," Gus started, frowning at his friend. "You inhaled a little bit of smoke, but not enough to need one of these dumb things." Gus glared at his tank, then yanked the mask down, annoyed at how it muffled his voice. "And you have a few burns on your back, but they are first degree only. That's about it." Gus left out the part where Shawn's beloved leather jacket had several holes burned into the back of it. No need to bring that up yet.

Shawn sighed, "Yeah, and then there's the little tidbit where I can't remember what happened." Shawn rubbed at his eyes, feeling the throbbing of his head beginning to increase. He looked at Gus, "Tell me what happened."

Gus took in a deep breath. He knew this would be coming. He grabbed the chair behind him and pulled it closer, plopping down into it.

"You and I were walking to the apartment when Juliet drove up-"

"Jules was there?" interrupted Shawn, beginning to feel the nausea return at the reality of how much he couldn't remember.

"Yes, she was. Shawn, just let me finish, then you can ask questions. Okay?" Shawn nodded, so Gus continued. "She was there to check out that tip, too, but she wanted to check out the van first. You didn't think that was a good idea so you ran after her. I stayed by the car. You guys talked and then you yelled and took Juliet to the ground. The van exploded right after that." Gus coughed a little as he took in a breath, somehow having said all that without inhaling. "I called 911 and then found you and Juliet. You were out so Juliet helped me get you out of there. The ambulances and fire trucks came and you were taken to the hospital."

"Wait a minute," toned Shawn, a smile creeping onto his face. "You, Burton Guster, ran _toward_ a burning van? Just for little old me?"

"And Juliet," Gus reminded him, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "You weren't the only reason, you know."

"Aw, dude!" Shawn gushed, "You really do love me!"

"Shut up."

* * *

Henry Spencer was a force to be reckoned with as he strode down the halls of the hospital, his hard stare darting around. Nurses and doctors alike took notice of his purposeful stride and wisely stepped out of the way. Henry had never had so many emotions whirling through him like this since the day Shawn was born. And it wasn't a surprise that his wayward son was the cause of those vivid feelings currently twisting in his chest once again.

Henry spotted the nurse's station ahead and lengthened his steps, quickly closing the distance. He stopped at the desk and placed his hands firmly on the smooth counter top, his light blue eyes piercing in their stare.

The young nurse who had her head down as she checked over a form seemed to feel his glare and looked up. She shrank back slightly at Henry's intense presence. She swallowed and had to force her voice to work, "M-may I help you, sir?"

"Shawn Spencer," Henry barked out, his tone low.

Not understanding what the irate man was asking for, the nurse timidly prodded for more information, "Excuse me, sir?"

"What room is Shawn Spencer in?" Henry growled losing what little patience he had left. "He's my son."

"Oh, just one moment," replied the nurse, quickly turning to the computer and typing in the name. "Okay… Shawn Spencer is in room 304a, which is right down…" She trailed off when she looked up to see the back of Henry Spencer as he strode away, "…the hall and to the right," she finished, frowning. With a sigh she returned to her form, mumbling under her breath, "You're welcome."

Henry quickly turned the corner and scanned the room numbers as he passed them. He stuttered to a stop at the room labeled 304a. He wanted to throw the door open and see his son, but he suddenly couldn't make himself take another step. He didn't even know Shawn's current condition, and he was fighting an inner battle. Half of him wanted to break the door down and see his son; the other half didn't want to move for fear of seeing his son critically injured. Now, the policeman in him knew the latter was foolish since Shawn was not in ICU, but the irrational fear still lingered. He was in the _hospital_ after all. When your child was in the hospital for _anything,_ a fear would sit simmering in the center of your heart and would refuse to leave until your child was far away from the sterile building. Safe.

He took in a breath and berated himself, he was an ex-cop for cripe's sake. He could do this. Henry reached out and grasped the door handle, but before he could turn it he heard voices from within the room. One of which was a quite healthy sounding Shawn. Henry narrowed his eyes and looked through the narrow window in the door that he had previously avoided for fear of what it would show. Taking in the scene before him he could see the back of Gus as he stood at a bed, oxygen tank at his side, but all he saw of Shawn was blanket-covered legs. Gus blocked his view completely. Pressing his lips together, Henry decided he'd eavesdrop for a minute to know what kind of situation he would be walking into.

"No way, Shawn," refused Gus, incredulity in his voice. "Are you _completely_ nuts?"

"Dude, c'mon," groused Shawn. "I'm fine. Just find me my clothes and we are out of here. Besides, I wanna find Jules. You told me she was with me when the van exploded and you say she's fine, but I have yet to see her, Gus."

"The only reason you are 'fine' right now is because you're hopped up on drugs," Gus argued, motioning wildly with his arm at the IV stand. "And I swear to you, Juliet is fine. She left with Lassiter hours ago to go over the case I imagine, but I'm tellin' you, Shawn. She is fine. You on the other hand…"

"Gus, I'm FINE. And I'll believe Jules is okay when I see her. Now, help me up!"

Henry could practically hear Gus caving in and he decided it was time to make his presence known as Gus reached out to Shawn to help him up. He turned the handle and thrust the door open.

"You're not going anywhere, Shawn."

Shawn and Gus froze.

Oh, crap.

Those words echoed in both of their minds as the new arrival to their cozy little corner of the hospital walked in. Gus' eyes grew large in fear. All he could think was that he hadn't called Henry to tell him about Shawn. How could he have forgotten to call him? Oh, he was so screwed.

Shawn's face was quickly losing what little color he'd managed to obtain the past several hours. The headache that was a tolerable pounding suddenly grew and he could feel it throbbing behind his eyes. Crap. That damn guy with the hammer was back, and despite Shawn's show of bravado mere seconds before he was sorely tempted to press the little button at his side that would release a dose of painkiller into his system.

Shawn quelled the urge. He needed his brain firing on all cylinders when dealing with his father, even when a few of them were currently misfiring. It was better than the mind numbing haze of the drugs. Well, that was what he was currently telling himself, anyway. Shawn carefully peeked around Gus to see his dad, arms crossed, glaring down at him from the foot of his bed. He cleared his throat and gave his dad a little wave, "Hi, Dad."

Henry looked down at his son and several emotions fought for dominance. Fear at how close his son had come to being killed, concern at the paleness of Shawn's face and the way the hazel eyes were pinched in pain, and finally anger at his son for getting so far in over his head it was maddening. In traditional Spencer fashion, the anger won out.

"Hi, Dad?" quoted Henry incredulously, imitating Shawn's timid wave with an exaggerated one of his own. "That's all you have to say? Just 'Hi, Dad'?"

"Um," Shawn started, ignoring Gus' head shake of 'no', "What's up? How's it hanging? Wait—I'd rather not know that one. Uh, is that a new shirt? What brings you by?"

Henry stared down at Shawn for a full minute as his face flushed red, watching as Shawn slowly grew nervous at the prolonged silence. He took in a deep breath and saw both Gus and Shawn cringe at what they knew was coming.

"What brings me by?" asked Henry, anger lowing his voice. "I'll tell you what brings me by, Shawn." Henry grabbed the TV remote from the table and turned the TV on, punching in a channel and then glaring at the two friends. "This! This is what brings me by, Shawn."

Shawn and Gus squinted at the TV. Shawn looked at his father, confused, "The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers?"

"What?" blurted Henry, turning to look at the TV. Sure enough, the multicolored ninjas were bouncing across the screen. Scowling, Henry pointed the remote at the TV again.

"Wrong channel," he grumbled, and with the correct channel clicked he was now looking at the footage that had made him aware of Shawn's brush with death. Behind a reporter was the burning van, the flames and smoke billowing out and blocking the sun as streams of water began to try and drown them.

"I don't remember any news cameras being there," Gus said, disbelief in his voice.

"Well, I guess you were a bit preoccupied, Gus," growled Henry, watching the screen as it showed Gus and Juliet emerging from the smoke dragging a limp Shawn between them. He turned away. He'd already seen the footage one too many times.

Henry glared down at his son instead, "I came in from a relaxing day of fishing to turn on the television and see this. That, Shawn, is why I'm here!"

Shawn tried to explain himself, "Dad-"

"Don't even try to argue with me, Shawn," interrupted Henry, muting the television. "Do you have any idea how deeply you've stepped in it this time? A serial killer, Shawn? A _serial_ killer?! This is way over your head, Shawn. This isn't one of your little mysteries. This is serious."

Shawn frowned at his father, "How did you-"

Henry hit the volume on the TV and the announcer's voice filled the room, "-far we have no comment from the police about the serial killer and how he is choosing his victims, or why he has deviated from his pattern with this car bombing, but-" Henry muted it again.

"Oh," Shawn said, then looked at Gus. "I wonder who leaked the info?"

"It doesn't matter," answered Henry, crossing his arms, "Because you are off the case."

"What?" Shawn blurted out.

"Well, _technically_ we were never on the case," Gus informed Henry.

"Gus!" objected Shawn, glaring at his friend.

Gus just looked back at him, deadpan.

"I don't care right now," Henry said, shaking his head. "You are not taking this case."

"You can't tell me what cases I can or can't take, Dad. I don't work for you, I work for myself," Shawn glared at his father, but he couldn't keep the glare up very long. His head felt like it was going to explode. Any minute now, just BOOM. Shawn leaned back and closed his eyes. "I'm not a little kid anymore. I can take care of myself."

"Oh, and I think it is obvious how well you are doing at that," Henry argued, gesturing to Shawn lying in the hospital bed. He took a step forward, "You are off of it. End of discussion."

"Like hell I am," growled Shawn, struggling to sit up.

Gus watched the situation getting out of control and sighed. Shawn was laid up in a hospital bed and _still_ the two of them were going at it. He reached out and forced Shawn to lie back down, finding little resistance from his friend. Gus took a second to really look at Shawn and caught the wince of pain. Shawn really wasn't up to going one on one with Henry right now.

"Look," placated Gus, looking up at Henry, "Couldn't this wait until later?"

"There is no later, Gus," toned Henry, "You guys are off the case. I'm going to talk to Karen and I guarantee you both that you so much as breathe a word about the case and I'll find out about it."

Henry turned and quickly strode toward the door. He had to get out of there.

"Dad!"

"That's the end of it, Shawn," finalized Henry, not bothering to stop or look back at his son. He stormed out of the room and strode down the hall in much the same way as he'd arrived. Doctors and nurses alike quickly got out of his way.

Back in the hospital room, Shawn sank heavily against his pillows. He was so angry right now, but he couldn't dwell on it because he was sure his head had, in fact, just exploded. He groaned and stared up at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry, Shawn," Gus said to try and comfort his friend, but it was a false pretense. The fact was that Gus agreed with Henry on this one. This case was way over their heads.

Shawn just pressed his lips together and closed his eyes. He finally relented in his resolve and pressed the button at his side, letting the numbing medicine flood his system and carry him away.

Pease Review!


	5. Chapter 4

** Author's Notes:** Well, this took longer than I had planned, but at least it wasn't as long a wait as last time! I hope you enjoy this chapter. And SORRY for the multiple alerts you got on this chapter. I had some formatting issues when uploading it.

Many thanks to GBFreak for her extra set of eyes!

**Chapter 4**

Police Chief Karen Vick sighed, closing the door to her office and then leaning against it. She closed her eyes for a moment and then pushed away from the door, turning to close the blinds, repeating the action on every window. Karen didn't want to see anyone right now and she didn't want them to see her.

She had finally managed to escape the media. No matter how many times she had told them 'No comment.' or 'We cannot disclose that information at this time.' the questions had just kept on coming. What? Did they think she was a fool? That if they phrased the same questions in a different context that she would slip up and tell them something? They were the fools. With the leak of information about the serial killer to the media her job had just gotten a whole lot harder.

Slowly walking to her desk, Karen's eyes shifted from their normally detached stare to a sad and weary gaze. This serial killer case was dredging up some bad memories. Memories she wish she didn't have. And now one of her best detectives was in the hospital, along with her wayward freelance helpers Shawn and Gus.

Karen's brow scrunched in worry. She didn't even know if Shawn was okay. The damn media had kept her from getting any word on her friend. And yes, she realized suddenly. She did consider Shawn a friend. She wouldn't be telling him that any time soon, though. The Lord knew what Shawn would do with that little tidbit of information. He'd utilize it to its full extent.

Rubbing a hand across her forehead, absently trying to soothe the building headache, Karen reached for her phone and sank down into her chair. Before she could dial the hospital's number, though, a forceful knocking on her door startled her. The pounding was hard enough to rattle her blinds and she frowned.

Karen glared at the door for a moment before speaking in a commanding tone, "I am in the middle of an important call and cannot to be disturbed. Return at a later hour."

Hearing her words in the now silent office made Karen scowl at herself. She sounded like some damn answering machine. She sighed, fatigue pulling at her. She dismissed the officer outside her door and began dialing the hospital.

"Karen, it's Henry."

Her hand froze over the last number, her eyes looking up at the door. She pressed her lips together and then slowly hung up the phone. Wonderful. The great Henry Spencer was here to tear her a new one for putting his son in the hospital, not too mention getting him involved in a serial killer case. She shook her head. She could handle Henry. She could. She really could.

Who was she kidding? She had never been able to handle the difficult man.

"Come in, Mr. Spencer."

Henry slowly opened the door, the blinds swinging and banging into the glass at the motion. Once the door was closed Henry stood before Karen's desk with his arms crossed. She straightened in her chair and tilted her head to meet the man's gaze.

"What do you want, Mr. Spencer?"

"For cripe's sake, Karen," Henry rolled his eyes, uncrossing his arms and sitting down. "We've known each other long enough to be on a first name basis. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

Karen's mouth tugged at one corner, a smile fighting to break through. She shook her head, "Apparently, one more time." She paused, and then looked at Henry with worried eyes, "How is Shawn?"

Henry averted his eyes, frowning, "He's banged up pretty good, and he'll be feeling it over the next week or so. Bad concussion. A few burns." Henry brought his gaze back to Karen. He smiled, but Karen could tell it was forced, "But he's still Shawn. By the time I got to the hospital he was already trying to get out of it."

Karen smiled a genuine smile, feeling as though a weight was being lifted from her shoulders. She sagged back in her chair, "That's good. That's really good."

"He's off the case, Karen," Henry barked, his tone final. "I don't want him anywhere near it. He's finished."

"I never put him on it in the first place, Henry. You of all people know how seriously I'm taking a case like this." Karen leaned forward in her chair. "I know how a serial killer case messes with your head."

Some of the anger faded from Henry's face and his voice was softer when he spoke, "This is not the same thing, Karen. You can't let the past effect your view on this case."

Karen straightened in her chair and threw a hand out before her, "How can I not think about it, Henry? The Night Slayer case was never solved. That murderer got away with killing seven people. Then the killing suddenly stopped and he just disappeared. If this new guy's MO weren't so different I'd think it was the same man."

"It was 15 years ago, Karen. You were still fresh on the force and never should have been involved in a case like that," Henry shook his head, leaning back in his chair. "You were just partnered with the wrong cop."

Karen raised an eyebrow, "You always told me you were the only cop worth learning from, Henry. Lord knows I learned how to be a hard ass from the best."

Henry glared, but a smile tugged at his lips, "Don't swear. It never sounded right coming out of your mouth."

Karen smiled, but it soon faded away. She looked at Henry with tired eyes, "I don't know if I'm going to be able to handle this case, Henry. I keep remembering the Night Slayer and the two cases are starting to blur together. I just can't get the past out of my head."

"You need to take a step back from it, Karen," toned Henry. "Your not doing any good like this. Let Lassiter handle it. He can pull it off. He's got the right mentality."

Karen bristled, "And just what is that supposed to mean?"

Henry held his hands out in a placating fashion, "All I'm saying is that he separates himself from the case when he works it. He doesn't let the emotional parts of it affect him. You, on the other hand, have always been sympathetic to the victims. You're a lot better at closing yourself off from it now, but this case is hitting too close to home."

Henry leaned forward, eyes intense, "Which is exactly why Shawn can't work this case. He may make jokes and play around, but he's really just a big softy. I've tried to work it out of him, but it's impossible. He's got too much of his mother in him when it comes to things like this. Frankly, I'm surprised you let Juliet on the case. She's not all that different from you at that age."

Karen stared steadily back at Henry, "She's a good cop, Henry."

"I can see that," replied Henry, shaking his head. "Are you sure she can handle it?"

"She can take it," Karen confidently stated, but Henry saw the flicker of uncertainty in her eyes.

Henry sighed, pushing himself up from the chair, "It's your call. Just make sure you're making the right one."

He walked to the door, opening it. Before stepping out he looked back at Karen, "I don't care if you have to arrest Shawn for obstruction in order to keep him out of this, Karen. Just don't let him get involved."

Henry started to step out, but hesitated and looked back at Karen again, "Call me if you need anything, Karen. I mean it."

Karen nodded her head slightly and watched as Henry finally left her office. She stared at the door until the blinds stilled in their clattering sway. She then rested her arms on her desk, burying her face in her hands.

Sometimes she hated her job.

**- p s y c h -**

Juliet returned the oxygen tank with a feeling of relief. She was sick of the thing. It was making her throat dry up since she was no longer in need of it. So, to relinquish the apparatus was like lifting a burden. She only wished lifting her other burdens were as easy. 

Juliet sighed. She turned and walked slowly down the hospital hallway, noticing the people around her, but not really seeing them. Her mind was too busy thinking over the events of the day. She hadn't been back to see Shawn yet. She was worried about him, but she was scared, too. She was afraid to go back to him, to see what she had caused. She was afraid to confront how close she had come to losing him today. Whether their relationship could ever be something more than friendship or not, she had almost gotten a good friend killed today.

And then there had been the fight with Carlton. Oh, God. She should have kept her mouth shut. Things were going to be so very awkward between them from now on, because she knew Lassiter and he never dealt with feelings very well. Especially when it came to the feelings of other people. She never should have said anything, but she had been at the end of her rope. She'd had to let it out. She just wished it hadn't been in front of her partner. And Juliet still felt like she had more locked up inside of her that was just trying to claw its way out.

So besides everything else, she was also avoiding Carlton. Juliet doubted the man was looking for her, but that didn't mean she was going to make herself easy to find. After she had stormed off, if she could have even called it that while dragging that damn tank around, she had wound up in one of the hospital's chapels.

Now, Juliet wasn't a devoted churchgoer, but she had faith. When she had noticed what room she had wandered into, she had sat in the back pew and had blanked everything out. She didn't see, didn't hear, and didn't think. She had only snapped out of her stare when an old lady had put a hand on her shoulder and asked if she was all right. Juliet had blinked and looked up at the elderly woman standing beside her. She had forced a smile and nodded, but the woman hadn't looked convinced and had held out a hanky that had suddenly appeared in her hand.

Juliet was confused until she had raised a hand and brushed her fingers across her cheek, feeling the streaks of moisture. Lowering her eyes, Juliet took the offered hanky and quickly wiped the tears from her face. She hadn't even realized she was crying. Embarrassed and angry with herself, Juliet hastily returned the hanky to the woman and quickly left the small chapel.

That's when she had noticed that she had been in that chapel for hours. She'd lost all that time and it scared her. It scared her that she could blank out the world to such an extent, and she was worried about Shawn. When she had been taken away by Carlton, Shawn had yet to wake and it was not known for sure if he would ever wake up. Now... Shawn could have died when she was off feeling sorry for herself.

That's why she was currently forcing herself toward Shawn's room. As she neared his room her steps slowed, becoming more reluctant. She slowly approached his room's open door and paused when she heard voices arguing within it. She smiled her first smile since the serial killer case was placed on her desk. Shawn's voice, she was hearing Shawn's voice! He was awake, and very much himself if the exasperation she heard in Gus' voice was any indication.

Her smile widened and she took a step toward the room, but stopped, the smile falling from her face. The fear gripped her again and she looked down in indecision, suddenly noticing the state of her clothes. She touched a hand to her hair. She had to look horrible. She hadn't even glanced in a mirror since arriving at the hospital and now what she looked like suddenly seemed important. Now, if she were honest with herself she would see that it was only an excuse to run away, but she preferred to just give in to the urge as she dashed into the restroom down the hall.

Juliet glanced around self-consciously as she entered, relieved to see that she was alone in the room. She approached a sink, avoiding her reflection in the mirror. She didn't want to look into her own eyes quite yet. She turned on the tap and placed her soot and dirt marred hands under the stream, not caring that the water was cold. She added soap and scrubbed at her hands, trying to get it all off. She just had to get it off. She cupped the water in her hands and leaned over to splash her face, gasping a little when the cold hit her face.

She turned off the water and grabbed a paper towel to dry her hands, lifting it to press against her face. She held it here for a moment before lowering it and finally looking at her reflection. She almost didn't recognize herself. She'd never seen herself looking so strung out, her skin pale with dark circles beneath her red rimmed eyes. Her hair was an absolute mess, frizzy and hanging awkwardly to the side from what was left of the bun she had twisted it into that morning. She quickly reached back and released her hair, not caring as she threw the clips into the trashcan. Juliet looked back into the mirror. Soot stained her blond strands black in odd streaks now that it was loose and she grabbed at a section that was hanging in her face and smelled it.

"Ugh," she scowled, glaring at it. It smelled of smoke. Blinking, she lifted her arm and smelled her sleeve, then grabbed her collar and took a sniff. She frowned. Her clothes smelled of the acrid smoke as well. She examined them in the mirror, narrowing her eyes. They were streaked with black stains of soot. She took in a breath, but before she could let it out in a sigh, it got caught in her chest. She noticed something other than soot staining the light grey material of her blazer at her shoulder.

"Oh, God," she moaned out, a hand shooting up to her mouth as nausea suddenly twisted her stomach. She fought the feeling and turned away from her reflection, turned away from the rusty red stains of Shawn's blood. She remembered how Shawn's head had been resting so heavily against her, the remembered sight renewing the panic she had felt.

Juliet let out a restrained sob as tears burned her eyes again, but she fought them, forcing the emotion back. She couldn't lose control again. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and then quickly removed her blazer, tossing it into the trashcan as if it burned her hands.

Taking a few deep breaths, Juliet forced herself to look back at her reflection. She was relieved to see that she looked better without the blazer, without the reminders... Her blazer had protected her white dress shirt, so it was mostly clean of the soot and there wasn't any... She shook her head. She didn't want to think about it.

She attempted to fix her hair so that it was somewhat presentable, but soon gave up. This was as good as it was going to get, and she couldn't put off seeing Shawn any longer. The sight of his blood on her clothes had pushed her concern to the forefront, drowning the fear out. She took in a breath and quickly exited the restroom.

She immediately collided into someone walking by the door, the force knocking him to the floor. Juliet winced at the muted grunt the man gave upon impacting the floor.

"Jesus! Watch where you're going!" cried another man, reaching for his friend. He glared at Juliet with dark blue eyes.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Juliet gushed in apology, face turning red as she reached out and helped the man to his feet. The man shook his head.

"Hey, it's okay. I should have-" The man broke off when he raised his eyes to look at her, recognition and surprise showing on his face, "Hey! Just who I was looking for!"

"Huh?" blurted Juliet, confused. She glanced between him and the other man, who was still glaring at her. She'd never seen blue eyes that dark. She blinked and brought her attention back to the man she had knocked down. "Do I know you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name's Rick," he reached out a hand and Juliet hesitantly shook it. "I helped you out when you were put in the ambulance."

"Oh," Juliet let out absently, her eyes shifting as she tried to remember that time. It was mostly a blur as her mind had been stuck on Shawn and what she had done, but the memory slowly came back to her. She remembered the man and how he had talked to her, even though he wasn't really getting through. Juliet had ignored him, and she felt guilty. He was trying to help her and she just shut him out.

Juliet smiled up at him, "Thank you for that."

"No problem. Just doing my job," Rick smiled back, then both he and Juliet looked at the other man as he huffed.

"Right," the man scoffed, glaring at Rick. Juliet wondered if that was just how the man looked at everyone. He continued, throwing a thumb at Rick, "Mr. Doesn't-know-how-to-take-a-day-off was driving by and just had to stop and help us out." His eyes narrowed even further, something Juliet didn't think was possible, and he frowned at Rick, "Even though we had it all under control and didn't need it. Dude, you need to learn how to lay off, let some other people do the job."

Rick smiled somewhat sheepishly at Juliet, "And this is my charming friend, Sam."

Juliet smiled at the sarcasm in Rick's voice, and then laughed at the affronted look on Sam's face. It soon fell back to his now familiar glare and he crossed his arms.

"You are just hilarious, Rick," he frowned and then raised an eyebrow. "You good now? You found her. She's fine. Can we please go get something to eat now? I haven't eaten since my last shift change."

Rick sighed, throwing a suffering look at Juliet, "Never get between Sam and his stomach. The man almost goes feral when he's hungry." He grinned when Juliet smiled again. He looked at Sam, and pointedly ignoring the anger he saw directed at him, shrugged, "Well, I'd like to see how that other guy is after all the fuss he made at the scene. He was really out of it."

Juliet's eyes grew wide, "You mean Shawn?"

"Yeah, I think that was his name," replied Rick, a thoughtful look on his face. "We almost couldn't get him in the ambulance. Then Sam here nearly got punched by a guy when he wasn't moving fast enough to help Shawn."

"I did not!" growled Sam, giving Rick an angry shove. "I had everything under control and I didn't need you butting into it."

"Yeah, right," Rick rolled his eyes.

"Don't make me deck _you_, Ricky," sneered Sam.

"Don't call me that, Sam," Rick glared, his dark brown eyes narrowing.

"Then lay offa me, man," Sam said, voice low.

"Stop being such an ass and I will!" countered Rick.

Juliet glanced between them as they continued to argue. She cleared her throat, trying to get their attention. When that didn't work, she spoke up.

"Hey, guys." Still nothing. It looked like a fist was going to be thrown soon. "Guys!" That worked as they both turned to look at her. She watched as the anger quickly fled Rick's face, but stayed in all its glory on Sam's. She wasn't surprised.

"Sorry 'bout that," Rick apologized.

"It's okay. I just wanted to tell you that I was headed to Shawn's room to see him when I, quite literally, ran into you. It's just down the hall," Juliet gestured with her hand. "You could come with me, if you'd like?"

Rick's face brightened, while Sam groaned loudly in frustration. Rick shot him a look, and then smiled at Juliet, "That'd be great. Thanks."

They followed her to Shawn's room, and if Juliet looked back she was sure she'd see an angry pout on Sam's face if the shuffling stomp of his feet were any indication. The man must really be hungry. Shaking those thoughts away, Juliet fixed her eyes on Shawn's door and then glanced behind her.

"Just give me a minute before you come in, okay?" she asked.

Sam looked like he was going to object, but Rick nodded with a smile. Sam groaned.

"Thanks," smiled Juliet. She looked back at Shawn's door and took in a deep breath. She could do this. She just had to get her feet to move.

**- p s y c h -**

Shawn angrily shrugged Gus' restraining hand from his shoulder, his mouth set in a determined line as he reached for his shoes sitting beside him on the bed. He sat fully dressed in his soot stained clothes, his legs dangling over the side of the uncomfortable mattress. Well, mostly dressed, he thought, wiggling his toes. He didn't know what had happened to his socks. Oh, well. It had been hard enough to get the clothes he did have. Gus could be so stubborn sometimes. He had wanted his jacket too, but Gus wouldn't tell him where it was. Shawn figured it was a last ditch attempt to get him to stay in the hospital after the socks thing didn't work. Well, the jacket wasn't going to work either. He knew Gus would give it to him later. His friend knew he loved that jacket. 

Said friend was currently standing in front of him, arms crossed with a mixture of worry and anger on his face. It was an expression Gus wore a lot, at least around him. More often than not, the anger won the emotional war and Shawn would then be the audience to another Burton Guster lecture where he would go into detail all the reasons they shouldn't do what Shawn wanted them to do. Shawn hoped that wasn't the case here. His head was killing him.

Shawn grabbed a shoe and leaned over to slip it onto his bare foot, but the swift change in elevation caused his head to spin. He dropped the shoe and only vaguely heard it thump to the floor, the sound muted by the pounding in his ears and the pain throbbing in his skull. He gripped the mattress with both hands in an attempt to keep from meeting the floor. Shawn didn't think he was going to be successful as he felt himself tip forward.

He was saved from his downward plunge by a fierce grip on his shoulders, the pressure quickly righting him. Shawn forced his eyes open, squinting in pain. Gus' worried visage appeared in his sight, his friend's face so close that Shawn reared back slightly. Shawn blinked, then smiled slightly. It looked like the worry won over the anger. That meant no lecture. Sweet.

"Shawn, please," Gus pleaded, "You really should lie back down. They want to keep you overnight to make sure you're okay. You shouldn't be leaving."

Well, so much for the no lecture. Shawn sighed, frustrated. He had to admit the worried lecture was easier to take than the angry one. ...It was shorter, too. He looked up at his friend, the pain and dizziness having faded to a tolerable level and in their retreat his resolve to leave returned.

"Gus, I am FINE," he argued, ignoring his friend's look of disbelief. "I need to get out of here and find Jules."

Shawn saw the objection fill Gus' face, and raised a hand to forestall him from speaking. Shawn didn't try to hide the worry from his face when he spoke, "I gotta know if she's okay, Gus. I just... I just can't shake this feeling that she's in danger."

Gus stared at him for a moment, frown lines creasing his forehead as if he were trying to decide if Shawn were lying or not. Well, Shawn wasn't. He really did have a horrible feeling twisting in his gut that Juliet was in danger. Maybe it was because he couldn't remember the explosion or maybe it was a side effect of the pain medication. Either way, he had to see her, whether it was irrational or not.

Finally, Gus seemed to make a decision. He bent down and picked up the fallen shoe, then grabbed Shawn's foot and shoved the shoe on. Shawn frowned slightly at the rough treatment, but a smile quickly turned his lips at Gus' changed mind. That was until Gus finished and grabbed his other shoe. Something just felt wrong. He frowned.

"Uh, Gus?" Shawn ventured, knowing his friend was still angry even though he was now helping.

"Shut up, Shawn."

"But Gus-"

Gus stopped loosening the laces of the second shoe and pointed it at Shawn's face. Shawn jerked back a little as it came way too close to bopping him on the nose.

"I said shut up, Shawn."

"But-"

"Shh!"

"Bu-"

"Zip it!"

Shawn suddenly laughed, the action taking Gus off guard. He narrowed his eyes, wary at the change.

Shawn giggled, thoroughly amused.

"What?" asked Gus, curious as to what was so darn funny.

"Dude, you're totally channeling Dr. Evil!" Shawn grinned.

"Shawn," Gus moaned, rolling his eyes. Leave it to Shawn to reference a movie like _Austin Powers_ at the most unexpected time. "Just shut up before I-"

"Eh-hem."

Gus broke off at the noise and turned, Shawn peeking around him. Shawn's eyes widened in delight as relief flooded through him.

"Jules!" he cried, his pleasure at seeing her evident in his voice. Shawn leaned to the side to get a better view around Gus. She looked about as clean as he and Gus did, her clothes streaked with black soot, eyes red. Even her blond hair had streaks of black and it was the messiest he'd ever seen.

Shawn thought she looked great. Wonderful. Fantastic. Beautiful. The best thing he'd ever laid eyes on. Hell, she could have been covered in tar and feathers and she would have looked fantastic. She was there, standing, and she was okay.

Shawn grinned like an idiot.

Of course, that didn't mean he wasn't going to leave now. Just because his primary reason for leaving the hospital was now standing in his doorway didn't mean he didn't have other reasons. Oh, he had plenty. He was vacating the premises as soon as possible.

Juliet smiled at Shawn's greeting, her head dipping slightly as she stepped further into the room. She stopped a few steps away from Shawn's bed.

"Hey, Shawn," she said softly, giving a nod and smile to Gus.

Shawn felt his smile fade a little when her eyes fell to study the floor. If he didn't know better, he'd think she didn't want to be there. And he did know better, didn't he? She wanted to see him, didn't she? Shawn's smile began to fall completely, brow furrowing. Or did she feel she _had_ to see him? Like it was something she was obligated to do... Damn it. He'd rather she would _want_ to see him, but since he hadn't quite figured out where their relationship really stood, he wasn't sure what to think.

"Hey, Jules," Shawn said, voice low. "You okay?"

Juliet brought her gaze up to Shawn and he could swear he could see tears in her eyes. What the hell?

"Yeah," Juliet smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I'm just fine, Shawn. It's you we're all worried about." She took a hesitant step forward, "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah! I'm just dandy," Shawn chirped, letting his usual mask of happiness fall into place. His sharp eyes studied Juliet and he could see that she was nervous, her eyes seeming to look everywhere but at him, and she still stood off to the side. Shawn's eyes shifted slightly as he thought. He took a furtive sniff. He didn't smell that bad, did he? Shawn pursed his lips, glancing down at himself. Stupid smoky clothes.

"Yeah, right. Dandy, my ass," Gus suddenly muttered, leaning over to jam Shawn's other shoe on.

Shawn grinned. Yep. Gus was still mad at him. He looked at Juliet, pointing to Gus, "Ignore him."

Juliet looked like she was going to reply when a commotion at the door distracted all of them.

"I ain't waitin' a minute longer, man," came an angry voice, the sound of a scuffle of some sort accompanying it. "Now, get in there!"

A man suddenly vaulted into the room, stumbling and crashing into a chair. He quickly straightened and glared behind him. Another man strode in, obviously having just shoved the other guy into the room. Shawn's eyes narrowed. Who the hell?

"Who are you guys?" asked Gus, having paused in tying Shawn's shoe to look at them warily. They looked familiar for some reason.

The guy that was shoved into the room smiled, eyes apologetic, but Shawn could still see the anger in them. Shawn didn't blame the guy. He'd be pissed off too if he'd been forced into a room like that.

Shawn was surprised when it was Juliet who spoke up in answer to Gus' question.

"This is Rick and Sam," Juliet gestured to each in turn. "They are paramedics that were at the scene and they wanted to check up on us. Make sure we were okay."

"Oh," smiled Gus. Now he remembered the two medics. He straightened, having tied Shawn's shoe. "Thanks."

Shawn squinted, lips pursing as he studied the new arrivals to his room. Rick was about his age; although he did give the appearance of being younger by the way he carried himself. He was probably an inch or two taller than Shawn, with short sandy brown hair and dark brown eyes.

Switching his gaze to Sam, Shawn raised an eyebrow. The man stood with arms crossed and he glared around the room with dark blue eyes. They almost looked black. He had black short-cropped hair, but it was longer on top and it fell across his forehead. He was well built and tall, a few inches taller than Rick, and older, too. He looked to be in his mid thirties. The dude just broadcasted 'bad news'.

"Uh, yeah," Shawn finally said, having got caught up in his observations. "Thanks, but we're fine."

Shawn watched as Rick stepped up to stand beside Juliet, the two exchanging a little glance and smile. Shawn's eyes narrowed. What the hell?

Sam suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Shawn's chart from the edge of the bed, his eyes quickly scanning it. Shawn scowled, reaching out and swiping the folder from the man's hand.

"Dude!" Shawn objected, glaring. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Better question," countered Sam, towering over Shawn. He jabbed a finger into Shawn's chest, causing Shawn to wince, "What are _you_ doing dressed? You're to be kept overnight for observation. So where the hell are you going?"

Shawn was leaning backwards in order to put some space between them, but he glared defiantly back, "Invade privacy much, Sammy? It's none of your business what I'm doing or where I'm going."

Sam's large hand landed on Shawn's chest, and before Shawn could blink he was lying back in the bed, twisted awkwardly as his legs still hung off of the side.

"Hey!" yelled Gus, shouldering Sam aside and turning on him with a glare. "Don't touch him!"

Shawn stared up at the ceiling, a ceiling that was currently spinning and going from light to dark to light. Oh, God. It's the head rush from hell, Shawn thought, almost moaning aloud. He squeezed his eyes shut, cursing the man with the hammer that refused to leave his head and was instead back to hammering with renewed enthusiasm.

"He shouldn't be going anywhere," argued Sam, glaring right back at Gus. "You think what the doctor wrote on that chart are suggestions instead of orders or something? And since we're on that subject, where is your oxygen tank? I know there is no way you should be off of it already."

Gus couldn't stop himself from glancing to the corner of the room where he had stashed the tank and mask, and Sam caught it. He looked and saw the tank stuffed in the corner. Sam threw his hands up.

"Unbelievable!" Sam yelled, "How stupid are you two? Seriously."

"Sam-"

"Shut it, Rick!" interrupted Sam.

"What the hell is going on in here?!" yelled a strong voice.

Even Shawn sat up at that voice. His eyes were still pinched in pain, but it had lessoned to a tolerable level. He gave Gus a reassuring smile when his friend laid a hand on his shoulder, steadying him as he swayed slightly. Ugh. He really did not like that Sam guy. Jerk.

Shawn looked to the doorway of his room, his voice tired, "Hey, Lassie."

"Spencer," Lassiter acknowledged the supposed psychic. Then he stared at the other people in the room, "Now, just what is going on in here? I could hear you all the way down the hall."

Sam glared at Lassiter, his eye catching on the badge pinned to his belt. Sam shook his head; walking to the door and brushing past Lassiter, "Forget it."

Rick watched Sam leave, raising a hand to run it through his hair. He looked around the room, "Sorry about that. Sam... He just gets that way sometimes."

"How the heck is that guy a paramedic?" asked Gus, eyes wide in the aftermath the man's tirade.

Rick frowned, "He's a good paramedic. It's just how he is, and it's been a long day." Rick straightened, preparing to leave, "Well, I better go catch up with him. I still owe him that lunch."

Rick started to walk to the door, but stopped and turned to Juliet, "So, uh... I'll see you around?"

A little surprised, Juliet's eyes widened slightly, "Oh, uh... Sure."

Rick smiled, "Great. So, I'll see you later then."

Shawn frowned, not sure if he'd just witnessed a date being arranged or not. He narrowed his eyes as Juliet returned the smile. Shawn felt something burn in his chest and he glared at Rick's back as he walked from the room. Okay. Shawn didn't like Rick either. Really didn't like him.

"So, Spencer..."

Shawn shifted his attention to Lassiter as the man walked up to him, "What's up, Lassie?"

Lassiter stopped in front of him, and Shawn caught the uncomfortable glance he shot to Juliet, who was suddenly very interested with the dirt under her nails. Okay. Something is definitely weird there, Shawn thought.

Clearing his throat, Lassiter crossed his arms, "You want to tell me what the hell happened out there today? Besides the fact that you shouldn't have been there in the first place, that is."

"Well, Lassie-poo," smirked Shawn, thoroughly amused at the eye twitch the nickname caused as Lassiter scowled. "I'd love to help ya, but I can't remember a thing."

Lassiter stared at him for a moment, then, "Are you kidding me, Spencer? 'Cause if you are, I swear I'm gonna-"

"Lassie! When have I ever done that? Really. I mean, that would just be rude," interrupted Shawn, grinning at the red flush of anger that colored Lassiter's face. Before the man could yell at him, though, Shawn continued in a more serious tone, "Dude, I'm not kidding." He raised a hand to gently touch the wound just behind his temple, the stitches hidden by his hair. He winced, "When the van went ka-boom it knocked my head around a bit more than it liked. So, the whole 'van go boom' thing is a blank."

Lassiter glared at him, still not sure if he believed Shawn or not. He was about to question him further when Gus spoke up.

"It's true, detective. He can't remember," Gus stepped closer to his friend, his expression honest as he continued, "From the time that we arrived in the parking lot until he woke up here... It's just gone. The doctor said he may remember some later, but he may also never remember it."

Lassiter studied Gus, and then glanced at Shawn and the oddly sheepish expression the young man now wore. Carlton sighed, running a hand down his face, "Wonderful. Just great!"

"I remember."

All eyes snapped to Juliet and she shifted uncomfortably at the attention, "Shawn stopped me in my approach of the van and then he said he heard a beeping sound. The next thing I know, he pushes me down and the van explodes."

"A beeping sound?" queried Lassiter, eyes narrowing as he thought it over. "Then Shawn pushed you down and it exploded. That doesn't make sense. If the bomb made any noise, it would have happened at the end of the countdown or when the trigger was activated. Shawn wouldn't have had time to push you down."

Shawn watched the gears turning in Lassiter's head and waited for the man to figure out what he'd already realized as soon as Juliet finished speaking. Shawn glanced at Gus and smiled. He'd let Lassiter have this one.

"It was activated by remote," Lassiter suddenly said, eyes wide in realization. "The bastard was waiting for you to get close and then he activated the timer on the bomb. The remote range couldn't have been far..."

Lassiter grabbed his cell phone from his pocket and quickly dialed a number, "This is Detective Lassiter. I want the whole block canvassed. Everyone is to be interviewed within that block radius. Don't let anyone leave until that's done, and hold anyone that seems suspicious. I don't care if it'll take all night!"

Shawn, Gus and Juliet watched as Lassiter left the room, too busy with his new direction to even nod a thanks or a good-bye. Juliet glanced at Shawn and Gus, stepping toward the door.

"Well, I should probably go with him," she explained, her eyes switching back and forth between the door and them. To Shawn it looked like she wanted to be anywhere but in the room with them. His eyes saddened slightly, a pain flashing in his heart. She didn't want to be there after all.

"See ya later, Jules," Shawn said softly, smiling slightly.

Juliet paused with a troubled expression on her face, but she shook her head and flashed them a smile before exiting the room.

"Are we still leaving?" asked Gus, his eyes studying Shawn, having noticed his change in demeanor.

"Yes, we are," answered Shawn, straightening as he drug his eyes from the empty doorway. "There's just one thing you have to do first."

Gus looked to the ceiling and groaned, "What now, Shawn?"

Shawn smiled and pointed to his feet, "Shoes on the wrong feet."

"What?" blurted Gus, wide eyes darting to Shawn's feet. He sighed when he saw Shawn was right, muttering, "For crying out loud..."

Grinning as Gus crouched in front of him to switch his shoes, Shawn's eyes slid to the empty doorway again. Slowly, the grin faded. He had a horrible feeling that things were going to get much worse.

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